Is the work ethic ethical?

[Unknown Soldier]

Wikipedia defines the work ethic as:

Work ethic is a belief that work and diligence have a moral benefit and an inherent ability, virtue or value to strengthen character and individual abilities. Desire or determination to work serves as the foundation for values centered on the importance of work or industrious work. Social ingrainment of this value is considered to enhance character through hard work that is respective to an individual's field of work.

In other words, "work" is good and will make you a good person! Many people take this understanding of the work ethic a step further and see those who presumably don't work as lacking good character. They're lazy and take advantage of the efforts of others. The resentment on the part of "workers" against these presumably lazy and shiftless people is largely rooted in the requirement to have taxes withheld from wages--tax money taken from some people and given to others. The bad rob from the good with the government's help!

There's so much that can be said about the work ethic, but for now I'm wondering if the work ethic is truly ethical. It appears to favor those who own businesses and makes the wealthy out to be virtuous while the poor are living in vice--both views having little truth to them. The work ethic appears to sow social discord by painting many minorities as bad, and those minorities include single parents, some ethnic groups, and the disabled.

 

[Harry Bosch]

Wikipedia defines the work ethic as:

Work ethic is a belief that work and diligence have a moral benefit and an inherent ability, virtue or value to strengthen character and individual abilities. Desire or determination to work serves as the foundation for values centered on the importance of work or industrious work. Social ingrainment of this value is considered to enhance character through hard work that is respective to an individual's field of work.

In other words, "work" is good and will make you a good person! Many people take this understanding of the work ethic a step further and see those who presumably don't work as lacking good character. They're lazy and take advantage of the efforts of others. The resentment on the part of "workers" against these presumably lazy and shiftless people is largely rooted in the requirement to have taxes withheld from wages--tax money taken from some people and given to others. The bad rob from the good with the government's help!

There's so much that can be said about the work ethic, but for now I'm wondering if the work ethic is truly ethical. It appears to favor those who own businesses and makes the wealthy out to be virtuous while the poor are living in vice--both views having little truth to them. The work ethic appears to sow social discord by painting many minorities as bad, and those minorities include single parents, some ethnic groups, and the disabled.

Do you have children? If so, do you teach them that working hard is good; or is it better to be lazy?

 

[bilby]

Hard work usually pays off over time.

Laziness always pays off, right now.

 

[bilby]

Laziness is a virtue. No lazy person ever ordered an invasion of a neighbouring country, or planned a genocide.

How much better would the world have been if Osama bin Laden had been a lazy good for nothing?

Or if Gavrilo Princip had just sat around talking about his political ideals, instead of getting off his arse and trying to do something about them?

Or if Vlad Putin had decided that invading Ukraine would be a lot of work, and that he would rather just go horseback riding without a shirt?

Hard working and enthusiastic people can change the world. This is frequently a very bad thing.

 

[TomC]

The work ethic appears to sow social discord by painting many minorities as bad, and those minorities include single parents, some ethnic groups, and the disabled.

The work ethic doesn't sow discord in any way.

People who want to sow discord can abuse the concept in many ways. But that's not the same thing.

This is part of what makes me so crazy concerning the anti-immigrants movement. They nearly always come here specifically for jobs. They brave huge hardship and risk to do it. They're tough and resilient like the forebears of modern Americans. Immigrants Made America Great!
Tom

 

[Harry Bosch]

Hard work usually pays off over time.

Laziness always pays off, right now.

Funny. Sure in the short term, laziness can pay off. But it in the long run, it will cause problems. It takes hard work to stay in shape, cook healthy meals, keep a clean house, and yea, to get promotions at work. I'm grooming two people at my company to buy me out. They don't have the cash to buy me out. However, they have busted their ass and can do anything at the company. They both have more contacts in the industry that I do now. I'll be selling my company to them. Why? Because I know that they are hard working and will figure out how to keep the company going (the plan is to incent them shares for the next two years; then get an SBA loan to pay me off). Hard work pays off in the longer run most of the time.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Wikipedia defines the work ethic as:

Work ethic is a belief that work and diligence have a moral benefit and an inherent ability, virtue or value to strengthen character and individual abilities. Desire or determination to work serves as the foundation for values centered on the importance of work or industrious work. Social ingrainment of this value is considered to enhance character through hard work that is respective to an individual's field of work.

In other words, "work" is good and will make you a good person! Many people take this understanding of the work ethic a step further and see those who presumably don't work as lacking good character. They're lazy and take advantage of the efforts of others. The resentment on the part of "workers" against these presumably lazy and shiftless people is largely rooted in the requirement to have taxes withheld from wages--tax money taken from some people and given to others. The bad rob from the good with the government's help!

There's so much that can be said about the work ethic, but for now I'm wondering if the work ethic is truly ethical. It appears to favor those who own businesses and makes the wealthy out to be virtuous while the poor are living in vice--both views having little truth to them. The work ethic appears to sow social discord by painting many minorities as bad, and those minorities include single parents, some ethnic groups, and the disabled.

Do you have children? If so, do you teach them that working hard is good; or is it better to be lazy?

Is it ethical to tell kids that work makes them virtuous when we all know that work can make criminals out of people? Should we libel the unemployed smearing them as scoundrels when we know full well that many unemployed people are actually quite virtuous?

 

[Harry Bosch]

Wikipedia defines the work ethic as:

Work ethic is a belief that work and diligence have a moral benefit and an inherent ability, virtue or value to strengthen character and individual abilities. Desire or determination to work serves as the foundation for values centered on the importance of work or industrious work. Social ingrainment of this value is considered to enhance character through hard work that is respective to an individual's field of work.

In other words, "work" is good and will make you a good person! Many people take this understanding of the work ethic a step further and see those who presumably don't work as lacking good character. They're lazy and take advantage of the efforts of others. The resentment on the part of "workers" against these presumably lazy and shiftless people is largely rooted in the requirement to have taxes withheld from wages--tax money taken from some people and given to others. The bad rob from the good with the government's help!

There's so much that can be said about the work ethic, but for now I'm wondering if the work ethic is truly ethical. It appears to favor those who own businesses and makes the wealthy out to be virtuous while the poor are living in vice--both views having little truth to them. The work ethic appears to sow social discord by painting many minorities as bad, and those minorities include single parents, some ethnic groups, and the disabled.

Do you have children? If so, do you teach them that working hard is good; or is it better to be lazy?

Is it ethical to tell kids that work makes them virtuous when we all know that work can make criminals out of people? Should we libel the unemployed smearing them as scoundrels when we know full well that many unemployed people are actually quite virtuous?

Hard work makes criminals out of people??? I haven't engaged with you before on this forum. Are you being serious or sarcastic?

 

[TomC]

Is it ethical to tell kids that work makes them virtuous when we all know that work can make criminals out of people?

We don't all know that. Quite the opposite, most of know differently.

Why would you say that unless you were trying to sow social discord?
Tom

 

[Harry Bosch]

Is it ethical to tell kids that work makes them virtuous when we all know that work can make criminals out of people?

We don't all know that. Quite the opposite, most of know differently.

Why would you say that unless you were trying to sow social discord?
Tom

I think that he's being oddly sarcastic.

 

[TomC]

Is it ethical to tell kids that work makes them virtuous when we all know that work can make criminals out of people?

We don't all know that. Quite the opposite, most of know differently.

Why would you say that unless you were trying to sow social discord?
Tom

I think that he's being oddly sarcastic.

You've not interacted with him much.

This isn't new.
Tom

ETA ~The weasel word there is "can".
In a world of 8B people, and the wonky U.S. systems, nearly anything "can" happen. And in the world of The Internet, somebody is going to report about it. Or, at least, an anecdote about it.

Therefore, "work can make can make criminals out of people" becomes true.

Stupid and unimportant, but true in the most technical sense.
Tom

 

[Unknown Soldier]

The work ethic appears to sow social discord by painting many minorities as bad, and those minorities include single parents, some ethnic groups, and the disabled.

The work ethic doesn't sow discord in any way.

I must disagree. I know of people with disabilities that get harassed by people who insist they find employment.

People who want to sow discord can abuse the concept in many ways. But that's not the same thing.

I don't see how the idea of the work ethic is being abused when people work to achieve unethical goals! What's ethical about workers at a chemical plant being told by its management to dump harmful substances into the river?

This is part of what makes me so crazy concerning the anti-immigrants movement. They nearly always come here specifically for jobs. They brave huge hardship and risk to do it. They're tough and resilient like the forebears of modern Americans. Immigrants Made America Great!
Tom

You lost me here. What does this have to do with the work ethic?

 

[TomC]

You lost me here. What does this have to do with the work ethic?

Here are your exact words.

Is it ethical to tell kids that work makes them virtuous when we all know that work can make criminals out of people?

Feel free to explain why you posted that.
Tom

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Is it ethical to tell kids that work makes them virtuous when we all know that work can make criminals out of people?

We don't all know that. Quite the opposite, most of know differently.

Why would you say that unless you were trying to sow social discord?
Tom

If you don't know that employment can make criminals out of people, then you've never heard of Enron.

Is it ethical to tell kids that work makes them virtuous when we all know that work can make criminals out of people?

We don't all know that. Quite the opposite, most of know differently.

Why would you say that unless you were trying to sow social discord?
Tom

I think that he's being oddly sarcastic.

You've not interacted with him much.

This isn't new.

Let's stick with the topic please. I'm not going to waste my time with ad homs.

 

[TomC]

If you don't know that employment can make criminals out of people, then you've never heard of Enron.

I have heard of Enron and how super rich people fucked a lot of employees out of their life savings.

My response to your question remains. How does work make people into criminals?
Tom

 

[Unknown Soldier]

You lost me here. What does this have to do with the work ethic?

Here are your exact words.

Is it ethical to tell kids that work makes them virtuous when we all know that work can make criminals out of people?

Feel free to explain why you posted that.
Tom

Tom, I asked you what you meant by what you said, and you reply by quoting what I said. Wouldn't it make more sense to explain your words with your words rather than my words?

And I don't see what's hard to understand about my question. Are you sure you're not just stalling trying to avoid a sticky subject?

Anyway, I've been very well aware of work-place corruption since I was a kid. There's information all over the internet about it, so there's no excuse for ignorance. When I attended college I was required to take a course there called Business Ethics. The joke was that "business ethics" is an oxymoron! But that's a joke based in reality as the article Corruption in the Workplace documents. In that class I learned about conflicts of interest and whistle blowing. So while hard work doesn't necessarily result in corruption, it definitely can.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Wikipedia defines the work ethic as:

Work ethic is a belief that work and diligence have a moral benefit and an inherent ability, virtue or value to strengthen character and individual abilities. Desire or determination to work serves as the foundation for values centered on the importance of work or industrious work. Social ingrainment of this value is considered to enhance character through hard work that is respective to an individual's field of work.

In other words, "work" is good and will make you a good person! Many people take this understanding of the work ethic a step further and see those who presumably don't work as lacking good character. They're lazy and take advantage of the efforts of others. The resentment on the part of "workers" against these presumably lazy and shiftless people is largely rooted in the requirement to have taxes withheld from wages--tax money taken from some people and given to others. The bad rob from the good with the government's help!

There's so much that can be said about the work ethic, but for now I'm wondering if the work ethic is truly ethical. It appears to favor those who own businesses and makes the wealthy out to be virtuous while the poor are living in vice--both views having little truth to them. The work ethic appears to sow social discord by painting many minorities as bad, and those minorities include single parents, some ethnic groups, and the disabled.

Do you have children? If so, do you teach them that working hard is good; or is it better to be lazy?

Is it ethical to tell kids that work makes them virtuous when we all know that work can make criminals out of people? Should we libel the unemployed smearing them as scoundrels when we know full well that many unemployed people are actually quite virtuous?

Hard work makes criminals out of people??? I haven't engaged with you before on this forum. Are you being serious or sarcastic?

I'd just say you are best not to waste your time. Thread will go like this.

A) Ask a question that isn't a question, but an invitation of the OP'er to lecture all of us on the subject (Post #1 in thread)
B) Take responses well outside their context and argue against strawman (Post #7 in thread)
C) Get called out in
D) Complain that people won't quote where he said X, because people are tiring of quoting him on things he denies saying.
E) Claims he is being harassed and attacked, "just like in his other threads"
F) *sigh*

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

Suppose my job is to trick atheist babies into committing suicide. I'm working really hard at it, like 80 hours per week, my wife complains I'm obsessing over it on the weekends and I should really stop taking my work home with me. I need to take a break and do a romantic weekend getaway or even "sexy lunchtime at home with her" in between babies. I keep missing little Jonnie's soccer games because if I can just get one more atheist baby to commit suicide, I can break the company record, and by that I mean my own record. Because those lazy bastards at work don't work as hard as I do at it.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Suppose my job is to trick atheist babies into committing suicide. I'm working really hard at it, like 80 hours per week, my wife complains I'm obsessing over it on the weekends and I should really stop taking my work home with me. I need to take a break and do a romantic weekend getaway or even "sexy lunchtime at home with her" in between babies. I keep missing little Jonnie's soccer games because if I can just get one more atheist baby to commit suicide, I can break the company record, and by that I mean my own record. Because those lazy bastards at work don't work as hard as I do at it.

I know you're being a wise acher, but yes, it's very possible to work hard at being a jerk.

 

[Swammerdami]

Help stamp out hyperbole!

If I prefer cow's milk to soy milk, does that mean that I enjoy massacring animals?

the work ethic ... appears to favor those who own businesses and makes the wealthy out to be virtuous while the poor are living in vice--both views having little truth to them. The work ethic appears to sow social discord by painting many minorities as bad, and those minorities include single parents, some ethnic groups, and the disabled.

Is it ethical to tell kids that work makes them virtuous when we all know that work can make criminals out of people? Should we libel the unemployed smearing them as scoundrels when we know full well that many unemployed people are actually quite virtuous?

Your argument relies on excessive extrapolation. To preach that it is better for an able-bodied person to work than to be lazy is a very far cry from condemning a disabled person unable to work as sinful.