Freedom and American Dream
“God is rewarding you for your life”
– Puritan idea: you can succeed with hard work and the help of God
– BUT theory of predestination also: Max Weber
– Theory from Calvin
Values of the good Protestant
– Hard worker
– No consumption: saving money = investment
– THIS IS THE FIRST STEP OF CAPITALISM
– In the 20s, America needed to get ride of the puritan way of life
– Creation of needs
– Consumption
– THIS IS THE SECOND STEP OF CAPITALISM
– The American psyche
– A good Protestant needs to help others
– “Hate the sin help the sinner”
The Melting Pot theory
– WASP: White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
– A descendant, someone who was born in America
– Initially, the population come from Europe
– In Ellis Island: you discard your own identity, you assume a new identity when you decided te become American
– After few generation: melting of descendant
– Intermarrying and the American identity feeling
– The salad d Bowl: opposite for melting pot
– Each community is located in a part of the town
– Can jeopardise the unity of America
Social darwinism
– THE FITTEST SURVIVES = adaptability to the environment
– HERE: adaptability to the society
– Professional selection
– Theory giving legitimacy to social inequalities
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