Ammpol recently made a comment about unemployment and the “Protestant Work Ethic”, which set me thinking... I probably have only a vague grasp of the concept – but I assume it has to do with (or descends from) a salvation-by-something-or-other angle on religion as distinct from a supposed earlier (Roman) Catholic salvation-by-something-else. Itʼs always puzzled me as I had the impression that Catholicism allowed for salvation-by-good-works whereas most varieties of Protestantism seem to be more about salvation-by-grace. But thatʼs a whole other boring topic, and not one Iʼm qualified to speculate about. I doubt itʼs really germane to economics, or more to the point, itʼs not the actual “work ethic” we appear to have in contemporary society.
