Opinion : Americans care too much about hard work
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
If there is one thing Americans agree on, it’s the value of hard work, not just as a means to an end, but as something that has inherent moral value. We are a society of doers and strivers, we’re told, building the future by giving every ounce of effort we can to our jobs. If that’s not who you are or what you want for your life, there’s something seriously wrong with you.
A recent Wall Street Journal-NORC poll found that Americans’ commitment to a series of traditional values — including patriotism, religion, marriage and tolerance for others — has declined over recent years, in some cases drastically. But “hard work” still came out on top, with 94 percent of respondents saying that it’s either very or somewhat important to them personally (even as the share that said it was “very important” declined). A careful researcher would caution that this might reflect “social desirability bias” — everyone knows the socially acceptable answer to the question “Do you value hard work?”
But that might be exactly the problem.
Not long ago, there was a moral panic about “quiet quitting,” in which workers were supposedly choosing to do only what was required of them on the job, rather than competing to see who could spend the most hours in the office or answering work emails on the weekends. We were supposed to be appalled at workers who weren’t giving more than what was required.
While people all over the world have a reverence for hard work, the United States is unusual because we’ve woven it into our national mythology. The American Dream says that if you work hard you’ll succeed, and we define success in monetary terms. The inverse of that idea is that if you don’t work hard you’ll fail, and you’ll have no one to blame but yourself.
For many, there is a moral hierarchy involved: Those who work hard are simply better and more admirable than those who don’t. It’s ironic that many of those who hold to this idea with the most fervor also know intimately that the American Dream is a lie.
I’m talking about residents of rural America, where that moral hierarchy of work is a vital part of so many communities’ shared ethos. Yet no one understands better than them that hard work does not guarantee success. Most rural Americans know people who work hard yet struggle to get by, buffeted by globalized economic forces and constricted by a scarcity of opportunities where they live.
If rural Whites who vote overwhelmingly for Republicans have noticed that today’s conservatism defines wealth , not work, as the true sign of virtue, it isn’t readily apparent. As far as Republicans are concerned, work is optional for the wealthy but required for the poor. Republicans want you to document your hours or risk losing your Medicaid coverage, but if you suggest that we ask the same of those who want to keep receiving the favorable tax treatment of capital gains, they’ll think you lost your mind.
It isn’t hard to understand why the economic overclass and their political representatives would be so invested in the untrue ideas that struggling people must be lazy and that hard work is the only path to virtue and success. Those ideas help justify everything from low taxes on the wealthy to low wages and worker protections, to a weak system of social supports.
Yet evidence shows that providing people with health care, education and protections on the job doesn’t enable them to indulge their inherent laziness, it enables people who work to succeed. In a 2020 report comparing social mobility in different countries — meaning, the ability of children to do better economically than their parents — the World Economic Forum ranked the United States at No. 27. The countries with the highest social mobility were in Scandinavia, countries known for their robust social welfare infrastructure.
Every country’s policies reflect an ideology about work. The European Union mandates 20 days of paid vacation — a full month — in addition to holidays, and most member countries give their workers even more. The idea is that work is important, but so is the rest of your life. In America, federal law guarantees workers precisely zero paid vacation days and zero paid holidays.
Workers understand what those policies say about how much our society cares about them. They’ve gotten the message. Which might be why in that Wall Street Journal poll, young people were significantly less likely than older people to say hard work was a very important value to them. They’re willing to work hard, but they’re less likely to believe that toil and drudgery are their own reward. Maybe they have the right idea.
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in a nutshell -
We are told constantly that if people would only work harder and be more dedicated they too can achieve financial success. It is more or less a religious precept among a certain strain of "conservative". For decades and decades we have heard about how "lazy" people are who need government assistance to meet daily needs.
As this article points out, that approach is hogwash. For whatever reason, millions of Americans work at low wage jobs. Many of those people work like dogs, only to be "otherized" by the prevailing conservative attitudes. The fact is that not everyone can "make it". That has never been true and never will be true. The nature of capitalism guarantees that. In America , as the article points out, if you make money from capital gains you are a hero, if you make far less money from being a maintenance man you are a loser.
On the other hand...
it seems that many of those that vote for Democrats want a guaranteed income and other benefits from the government like equal outcomes, without contributing anything themselves.
hose who work hard are simply better and more admirable than those who don’t.
Yeah, the true heroes are those who take from those who work hard.
Dont talk about Wall St investors that way.
You mean Wall Street that overwhelmingly donates to Democrats?
Figure that one out for us will you?
Have an IRA, 401K, mutual fund, annuity, or own any individual stocks?
Then you are a "Wall St investor" as well.
Capitalism not only permits, but encourages , people to make money from little "work" at all, buying stock in a company that often requires ever increasing profit. Company managers that dont produce profit increases year to year are often shown the door.
I think everyone should work, and that includes gazillionaires and those who inherited gazillions. Really rich people seem to mostly work on being celebrities and having a brand.
No one should ever complain about the so called welfare state. The welfare state is what PERMITS others to become wealthy.
So a certain percentage of those getting "assistance" from the government take advantage of the system. How is that any different from high finance?
You should be thankful for that. Because those people fund businesses that create jobs, scale technological advancements and buy government debt, allowing our government to borrow without paying extortionate interest rates. Our welfare state only exists because "do nothing" investors fund it by buying debt and paying taxes on investments.
Do you want to go back to living in a pre capitalist society? You would be the only one.
Capitalism has done more for the welfare of humanity than anything else.
How is that any different from high finance?
Do you really need that explained?
What I want is for people who thrive quite nicely in our financial universe to stop whining about government assistance programs.
The "welfare" state is not only necessary, it is unavoidable. It is in a very real sense the price of doing business.
and that is "work" ?
nd that is "work" ?
Yes, managing money is work and it is also constitutes being a productive member of society.
I never bought into that whole taking work home or answering emails on teh weekends. I work to live not live to work.
I think I have a French soul
Amen!
"I think everyone should work, and that includes gazillionaires and those who inherited gazillions. Really rich people seem to mostly work on being celebrities and having a brand."
Well that certainly would include a lot of big name actors, musicians, sports stars, and a large number of politicians.
But the really rich go largely unknown, pay most of the taxes, and contribute large amounts to charity.
Can there be progress without work?
Paul Waldman is playing a linguistic bar trick by conflating hard work with heavy labor. Hard work in the American culture and heritage isn't about heavy labor; it's about progress. Waldman misses the mark (which is another American phrase that emerged from the American heritage and culture that included guns). In the American use of language, hard work means tackling problems and solving those problems. That's how Americans make progress; by working to solve problems. In America only the people can do the work that allows progress. Institutions cannot. Institutions cannot provide an effortless progress.
The American Dream is built upon the idea of 'work hard, play by the rules, get ahead'. Working hard means confronting life's problems and striving to overcome those problems. Playing by the rules is the social contract that doesn't allow shirking problems. And getting ahead is progress.
The American Dream is dying because we've become reliant on institutions to solve problems without effort by the people. That's not the American way. And that can never be American progress.
Where do you come up with this stuff? The only way one could say that hard work is related to "progress" is to say that all work is related to progress. Roofing is hard, hard work. What "progress" is it contributing to? the progress of a ceiling not leaking?
One more safe home for someone or a family.................................
Then you can make the argument that all work is "progress" . The hot dog vendor at the ball park is making progress on making people happy.