John Calvin Theory Of Predestination Paper

Protestant ethics and social Darwinism were an integral part of the history of the U.S. social welfare policy and this is still evident today. We have people in society today that determine their own fate by the way they live or their lack of desire to want to be productive in society. Then we look at those that work endlessly to make sure that they have a good life and their family is well taken care of. This behavior reflects back on what John Calvin theory of Predestination and the belief that when a person is called to a specific vocation they should work tirelessly as a sign of their faithfulness to that vocation (Martin, 2014). When we look at Calvin’s belief it leads back to Protestant ethics where according to Max Weber is the high
value that is placed upon hard work (Martin, 2014). With this in mind looking at the workforce today not as many people hold that value as in the past and this lack of values is part of what is leading to the large number of individuals that are living in a state of poverty. Looking at the work force and way individuals live today, it is apparent that hard work will get you nice things, but at the same time those things should not determine a person’s worth. Protestant ethics had and still has a large influence on poverty because of the fact that individuals are being judged by their hard work, moral conduct, and material success when it comes to their worth not only in society, but also in their faith.
Social Darwinism was another big influence on the social welfare policy and has continued to also influence the attitudes and policies in the U.S.
today. Charles Darwin looked at those who suffered from poverty were victims of their own biological inferiority and their demise was necessary for society to survive as a whole (Martin, 2014). Social Darwinism was looked at by some as desirable so that those who were weak would be weeded out and those who were strong got the rewards (Martin, 2014). This still holds true today with the attitudes not only in some of the work places, but also in society. There are some that follow all the policies that are in place to get the assistance that they need, but still fall short due to they lack certain skills or don’t meet one of the criteria that as a society we have set to receive assistance. Then there are those that can get all the assistance they need and have the skills to be qualify, but may be to lazy or not motivated to put out the effort to improve their lives. Both Protestant ethics and social Darwinism put a large emphasis on who deserves assistance and now on how we are going to help those that are looking for assistance improve their way of living. This is still happening today, because there are still certain policies in place that determine who receives assistance. These polices keep some people from getting the help they need, showing that we are still living in a time where those in poverty are still classified as worthy or
unworthy.