[framebit]

IMO the Protestant work ethic, while it has its roots in the ennobling of work in service to God, quickly got twisted through the Puritans and their adherence to "working out your salvation" rather than "for it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, not by works so that no one can boast." Even if that wasn't the official theology, that's certainly the behavioral tradition. And this quickly got twisted into the fundamental American myth: you get what you deserve.

Are you wealthy? Then you must have worked hard. Are you poor? Then you must be lazy. Did participating in an essential oils MLM bankrupt your family? You just didn't want success enough.

So the protestant work ethic in a modern sense, (IMO, of course) is ennobling work BECAUSE your "righteousness" for whatever religious or non-religious definition you want to use is based in your hardworkingness.

[whatshisface]

>Did participating in an essential oils MLM bankrupt your family? You just didn't want success enough.

That's not about work, that's about money. There's definitely no way to blame money-equals-virtue on Protestantism... That's just human nature.

[framebit]

Exactly right, it's a human nature twist on misinterpreted Protestant theology. Or rather a human instinct dressed up with the language of religion, in this case Protestantism but it could be anything. The manipulative language of MLMs which make money off the failures of their consultants, pulls from this work = salvation misinterpretation that boils down to "you get what you deserve," which is completely at odds with _real_ Protestant (and Catholic, orthodox, other Christian) theology.

[whatshisface]

>you get what you deserve

Ironically, this belief is honestly held by many con artists, who placate their conscience by telling themselves that whoever is stupid "deserves" to be scammed.