Studies On The Transformation Of American Work Ethic

The American work ethic is originated from the Puritan work ethic whose core ideas are as follows:work is a virtue, wealth is a divine grace, and poverty is an unpardonable sin. With the Puritan secularization in the mid-18th century, the puritan work ethic, having lost its religious connotation, develops into the secularized work ethic which on the one hand advocates economic success through diligence, frugality, and accumulation of wealth, while on the other blames the poor themselves for their poverty. This idea about work is the so-called traditional work ethic which later becomes part of the American spirit. After the Civil War, America found itself on the way to the industrialization. In this period, due to the alienation of work, factory workers, ever-increasing in their number, remain poor though working hard and spending less. This unexpected outcome leads to the questioning of the traditional work ethic. However, because of the prevalence of the theory of Social Darwinism, the traditional work ethic is strengthened somehow. Not until the Progressive Movement in the early20th century do the intellectuals begin to defend the poor with systematic theories such as environmental determinism. In the following social reforms, people gradually accept the idea that poverty is not an outcome of personal flaw in character, but the result of social inefficiency and social injustice, and they calls for the state welfare to support the poor. America thus becomes a welfare state. The underclass, a group of able-bodied but non-working people, begin to consider welfare as their basic human right and even ask for more free public assistance. It is surely detrimental to the traditional work ethic. In the1970s, when conservatism found its strength once again in the American society, workfare instead of welfare has become the priority in policy-making ever since then.This dissertation, while giving a systematic account of the transformation of American work ethic, aims to analyze, from the perspectives of literature, politics, and social thoughts, the reasons why the Americans hold different views toward work and wealth in different historical periods, the influences those views exert on the creation and accumulation of wealth and even on the economic policies, especially the redistribution policies, of the American government, and finally how the views lead to the expansion of the state welfare step by step so as to make it beyond social endurance and be compelled to make another reform. The national welfare reform, beginning from Roosevelt’s New Deal, is a significant change of governmental functions and social trends. It is also one of the heated political debates in the past half century. The change of the welfare policy is the comprehensive embodiment of American work ethic and values. Therefore, the studies on the transformation of work ethic are beneficial to the better understanding of the necessity and urgency of welfare reform in contemporary America. Besides, both work ethic and economic production are the most fundamental problems in human society; therefore, the public opinions held by the American people toward the work ethic and the policy adjustments made by the American government have a great significance for reference for other countries.