11 Comments
Jan 7, 2020Liked by Andrew Taggart

Hi Andrew, happy New Year. This was a beautifully written article. I really liked your summary of how Calvinism supplies the work ethic. As for the hesitancy around marriage, I can relate to the 'optionality' mind-set outlined in option two. I think people get caught in a self-defeating loop of waiting for "the right time" to get married "once everything's in place", but something that changed in my mind before my wife and I got married was to see marriage as a revolutionary act. I can't remember where I read this (maybe Zizek?) but it was actually referring to the anti-colonial struggles of the mid-20th century when many former European colonies gained their independence. Some said that they should've waited until they were 'developed', otherwise they might've fallen into economic difficulties upon independence. But Zizek says no, you can't rationalise like that, you just have to do it, carry out the act and live in the reality it creates and build from there.

Expand full comment