01: The Enchantments of Mammon

Published: Feb. 27, 2021, 11:53 p.m.

In this episode, Jeff talks to Jonathan about what he's gleaned so far from reading the first half of historian Eugene McCarraher’s book, "The Enchantments of Mammon: How Capitalism Became the Religion of Modernity." The book critiques capitalism from a "left romanticism" perspective and provides a way to discuss what matters for living well; the nature, limitations, opportunities, and failures of our modern situation; and how political and economic structures shape the human experience. 

In addition to McCarraher's tome, this episode roves around all sorts of topics, including Max Weber, sacramental ontology, Milton Friedman, management theory, John Ruskin, Adam Smith, worship, Richard Dawkins, the Outside, and more.  This discussion kicks off a series on the many facets of capitalism -- and we'll be continuing in future episodes to even-more-incompletely touch on many other topics including language, the nature of mental models, the limitations of knowledge, and what meaning there is to be found in the world. 

Want to chime in? Email us at: subjectsinprocesspodcast@gmail.com 


Show Notes: 

Eugene McCarraher's article about John Ruskin in Plough Quarterly: https://www.plough.com/en/topics/justice/comrade-ruskin

Keynes vs. Hayek rap battle: "Fear the Boom and Bust: Keynes vs. Hayek – The Original Economics Rap Battle": https://youtu.be/d0nERTFo-Sk


Music: 

Theme Music: "What u Thinkin? (Instrumental)" by Wataboi on Pixabay 

Intermission Music: "Lazy Morning" by Tim Moor on Pixabay