One of the most dramatic effects that the Pandemic has had for many of us is to distance us from our work or at least from our workplaces. Even those who have been able to work from home find that the pace is different and that many of the things that they did when in the office actually don’t need to be done at all. Of course this is not true for everyone. Front line and “essential” workers are doing everything they have always done and more and the most privileged may never have had to do things that weren’t necessary. This week, please reflect on the impact of the pandemic on your experience of work. List to the videos on Max Weber and the Protestant Ethic and Marx on Alienation. Do you agree that our work is what defines us? If so, is this because our value as human beings depends on what we produce or because human beings are defined by our creative capacity (which capitalism alienates by making our work simply a way of enriching others)? Or do you think that the whole modern focus on work is a mistake? Be sure to make reference to both the Protestant Ethic and to the concept of Alienation in your answers.