In this episode of New Ideal, Sam Weaver and Tristan de Liège discuss Atlantic writer Derek Thompson’s idea that Americans are afflicted by a religious obsession with work that he calls “workism” and their view of the role of work in human life.
Among the topics covered:
● Thompson’s view on work and why it's worth talking about;
● Why making work central to one’s life doesn’t entail adopting a religious perspective;
● Understanding what causes burnout and lack of fulfillment in work;
● The Objectivist perspective on work.
Mentioned in this podcast are Ayn Rand’s novels The Fountainhead [https://aynrand.org/novels/the-fountainhead/] and Atlas Shrugged [https://aynrand.org/novels/atlas-shrugged/], her essay “Causality Versus Duty” [https://courses.aynrand.org/works/causality-versus-duty/?nab=1], Gregory Salmieri’s essay “The Act of Valuing (and the Objectivity of Values)” in A Companion to Ayn Rand edited by Allan Gotthelf and Salmieri [https://www.amazon.com/Companion-Rand-Blackwell-Companions-Philosophy/dp/1405186844], and de Liège’s Ayn Rand University course Philosophical Perspectives on Work [https://aru.aynrand.org/product/philosophical-perspectives-on-work-2025/].
This podcast was recorded on November 7, 2024, and released on November 20, 2024. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcast. Watch archived podcasts here.
0:00:00 Introduction
0:00:55 Thompson’s view of work
0:11:45 Work as a central value doesn’t entail a religious perspective
0:22:16 Causes of burnout and lack of fulfillment in work
0:33:48 The Objectivist view of work
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