raghu: It is part of that puritanical spirit thing that Marxists do not seem to give the importance to that it deserves.
Explain. What are we supposed to do with it? And what part of what you call "Marxism" would bear one way or another on this? I really don't know what you are talking about here. Carrol -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of raghu Sent: Thursday, January 23, 2014 5:01 PM To: Progressive Economics Subject: Re: [Pen-l] Wall Street analysts win 75 hour week On Thu, Jan 23, 2014 at 2:25 PM, Marv Gandall <[email protected]> wrote: http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2014/01/27/140127ta_talk_surowiecki? mobify=0 This is a nice article. Especially the last paragraph: To make these new policies stick, then, banks have to change not just rules but expectations. Indeed, as Michel told me, "it isn't really external rules that force bankers to work the way they do. It's an entire cultural system." She cites the example of a consulting firm that mandated that people stay out of the office on weekends, only to discover that they were working secretly from home. In a culture that venerates overwork, people internalize crazy hours as the norm. As the anthropologist Karen Ho writes in her book "Liquidated," "On Wall Street, hard work is always overwork." Grinding out hundred-hour weeks for years helps bankers think of themselves as tougher and more dedicated than everyone else. And working fifteen hours a day doesn't just demonstrate your commitment to a company; it also reinforces that commitment. Over time, the simple fact that you work so much becomes proof that the job is worthwhile, and being in the office day and night becomes a kind of permanent initiation ritual. This seems right, but I'd go further. Long work hours appears to be a very important part of the self-justification of the Wall St crowd. It is easier to tell yourself that those outrageous bonuses are justified if you can say that you worked long hours and therefore deserved it. It is part of that puritanical spirit thing that Marxists do not seem to give the importance to that it deserves. -raghu. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
