Wise Words From B.I.L.

Finally catching up on my electronic life! This email was suggested by my brother in law. I'm not one to forward emails, nor is he, that's why I read it. I thought I'd share:

In our own generation a distinguished professor from Harvard
University has called attention to the "cultural contradictions" of
capitalism. Originally, he argued, the menace of unrestrained economic
impulse was held in check by the protestant ethic--people worked in
response to their calling. But now, with this ethic dissolved,
including its moral attitudes toward hard work and saving, only
hedonism remains.

"The greatest single engine in the destruction of the Protestant
ethic," he wrote, "was the invention of the installment plan, or
instant credit. Previously one had to save in order to buy. But with
credit cards one could indulge in instant gratification." Or as
another scholar put it simply: Capitalism, having defeated all
challenges, such as socialism, now faces its greatest challenge---
itself, because it devours the very virtues it needs to thrive.

-- Excerpt taken from The Call, by Os Guiness, p. 128-129
-- Effects now being felt by Bear Stearns, US housing market, and the
average American consumer