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I love everything about this: The accent, the humor, the content, the man, his life and his books. I never quite understood why so much Americans are out ther

I love everything about this: The accent, the humor, the content, the man, his life and his books. I never quite understood why so much Americans are out there just "to make a lot of money". Lot of money, but realistically probably not enough to cover their uncovered healthcare costs once their health get worse. But even in the best case, you earned a lot of money, you die rich, and that was it? Recognizing capitalism as a fact is one thing (that I do myself), worshipping it like Ayn Rand belongs to the dullest ideologies ever invented. Capitalism does not care that you are worshipping it damnit! Then I have read Max Weber and understood it all: "The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit Of Capitalism" Oh yes, that makes a lot of sense. It's not just capitalism, there is deeper meaning behind it and it comes from religion. By contrast, I was raised as a Catholic - I'm not an Catholic today, but that's was my education was - so I learned from an early age that talking about money all the time is not what good people do.

pbourke 7y ago
> I never quite understood why so much Americans are out there just "to make a lot of money". As a counterpoint, the US is perhaps the most charitable advanced nation (in terms of charitable giving per capita). Take from that what you will, but perhaps the conclusion should not be “Americans are more greedy or materialistic than others”. > I learned from an early age that talking about money all the time is not what good people do For better or worse money is a major component of agency both in your own life and in society at large. On a personal level, reducing your working hours to spend more time with your family requires a focus on money to make that happen. On a societal level, there is no universal health care, affordable education or shift to clean energy without deep and involved conversations about money.
- jmfayard 7y ago
  My conclusions were not what you quote. I agree with your final point. My conclusions were that both my reluctance to talk about money and US fascination for material success had a religious background.

pbourke 7y ago

> I never quite understood why so much Americans are out there just "to make a lot of money". As a counterpoint, the US is perhaps the most charitable advanced nation (in terms of charitable giving per capita). Take from that what you will, but perhaps the conclusion should not be “Americans are more greedy or materialistic than others”. > I learned from an early age that talking about money all the time is not what good people do For better or worse money is a major component of agency both in your own life and in society at large. On a personal level, reducing your working hours to spend more time with your family requires a focus on money to make that happen. On a societal level, there is no universal health care, affordable education or shift to clean energy without deep and involved conversations about money.

jmfayard 7y ago
My conclusions were not what you quote. I agree with your final point. My conclusions were that both my reluctance to talk about money and US fascination for material success had a religious background.