In the 1940s, philosopher Erich Fromm summarized this transformation, saying, “in the Northern European countries, from the 16th century on, man developed an obsessional craving to work which had been lacking in a free man before that period.” 23 Following the Reformation, then, work as an end in itself was no longer a crazy idea. People traded one master, the Catholic Church, for another, their vocation. But along with greater freedom and self‑determination came the anxiety and insecurity of never really knowing if you were working hard enough or doing the right thing. The Church’s
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