I finished “The Ape that Understood the Universe” (Steve Stewart-Williams, 2018) this week.

A good book on evolutionary psychology, probably the best I’ve read in years.

Anyway, there was a piece at the end talking through the evolution of culture and memes, and the “Protestant Work Ethic” (PWE) as a meme and its effect.

Very cool idea.

So, here it is:

It’s not a thing per se, but a theory by the sociologist Max Weber. It’s well named I guess and became a thing. A meme/memeplex.

Short definition (via gpt5):

The Protestant work ethic is the belief that hard work, discipline, and frugality are moral virtues rooted in religious faith—especially in Protestant traditions. It views one’s labor as a calling from God, where diligence and success reflect spiritual devotion and moral worth. This ethic promotes self-reliance, responsibility, and the idea that worldly success can signify divine favor, deeply influencing the development of modern capitalism and Western attitudes toward work.

And the main tenants (via gpt5):

  • Hard work is a moral duty — diligence and industriousness are seen as expressions of faith and devotion to God.
  • Work as a calling (“Beruf”) — every occupation, no matter how humble, has spiritual significance; performing one’s job well honors God.
  • Discipline and self-control — restraint, punctuality, and responsibility are valued as virtues.
  • Frugality — avoiding waste and living simply reflects moral integrity.
  • Deferred gratification — success and reward come from patience and long-term effort rather than immediate pleasure.
  • Individual responsibility — personal effort and accountability are emphasized over dependence on others.
  • Worldly success as a sign of divine favor — material prosperity can be interpreted as evidence of God’s blessing for one’s moral conduct and hard work.
  • Rational organization — efficiency, planning, and orderliness in one’s work reflect a disciplined, rational approach to life.

And Protestantism may not be central but modernism.

A tenet of global capitalism. And the hustle/burnout culture that goes with it, I guess.

Regardless, adopting the meme often means you do well (in western society) and in turn propagate it.

Does it still hold in the AI era? Likely, but altered.

For example (via gpt5):

Decoupling of effort and output: The traditional ethic ties moral worth to labor effort. But AI tools (like GPT) massively multiply productivity with minimal effort. This breaks the moral equation: if output no longer depends on toil, what does “hard work” mean?

This sounds like automation generally. And “getting lucky” with a business idea.

And:

Shift to creativity and leverage: Success now depends less on diligence and more on knowing how to use automation intelligently — “prompt engineering” replaces “sweat.” A new meme emerges: “Work smart, not hard.”

And:

Ethical inversion: AI may favor play, curiosity, and experimentation over discipline and routine. These traits are almost anti-PWE — more Renaissance humanist than Reformation ascetic.

Nod. Good points.

Candidate new AI/generative-AI tenets for an adapted PWE (again via gpt5):

  • Work as creative leverage, not toil — virtue lies in amplification, not exhaustion.
  • Understanding is the new labor — insight and discernment replace brute effort.
  • Alignment over obedience — guide systems ethically rather than merely follow orders.
  • Curiosity as discipline — continuous learning replaces rigid routine.
  • Transparency is the new frugality — share knowledge openly; don’t hoard information.
  • Play as productive practice — experimentation and exploration are legitimate work.
  • Human judgment as the last moral labor — curation and ethical sense-making are sacred tasks.
  • Meaning over metrics — value depth and purpose over output quantity.
  • Collective flourishing as calling — contribute to shared intelligence, not just personal gain.
  • Grace in collaboration — humility and cooperation, human and machine alike, define moral work.

Nod, common themes.

Amplification. Taste. Curiosity. Share. Serve.

Someone clever should come along and write an AI cluetrain manifesto for the rest of us on how to think about living/working in this new era.

They are trying (e.g. Reid Hoffman’s books come to mind), but nothing has not caught fire as a meme, yet. Not like vibe coding I mean.