Gifford Lectures (audio) Prof. Kathryn Tanner - Chained to the Past
Jun 1, 2018
Prof. Kathryn Tanner, a leading scholar in Christian social and theological thought, explores the constraints of finance-dominated capitalism on individuals as both workers and debtors. She highlights how past decisions bind present actions and how workplace pressures enforce these commitments. Tanner contrasts corporate fluidity with the rigid ties of workers to previous demands. She discusses the transformative power of Christian conversion and how it can disrupt this cycle of debt and self-management, offering a path to freedom through grace.
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Past Decisions Become Inescapable Commands
- Finance-dominated capitalism magnifies the past, making prior decisions bind present and future conduct.
- Debt and finance turn past commitments into inescapable commands that constrain life choices.
Workers Bear The Burden Of Inflexible Targets
- Workplace restructuring enforces past targets as inflexible demands on workers' futures.
- Managers shift responsibility for volatility onto workers while retaining the ability to revoke commitments.
Just-In-Time Production Tightens Human Time
- 'Post-Fordist' techniques maximize flexibility for firms while intensifying and narrowing workers' time.
- Tight production flows remove slack so any lapse immediately disrupts the entire process.
