Capitalism Global Gains -- Personal Essay

Hochschild certainly has excellent examples for the needs of such a realization in people, particularly Americans, especially when one considers how much more time at work people spend in this country compared to others, as well as how much money they think they need to have "everything they want." The fact of the matter remains, that when one gains an awareness of the perception that capitalism is, as Henry Cox put it, "the religion" that largely escapes the notice of those who practice it, its prevalence, its intensity, and its non-stop demands would more than likely be questioned. The most intelligent of examiners would likely pause to consider the context for all of the labor and the material trophies it provides within their lives and that of those closest to them. In some respects, this examination of labor and its fruits does take place already, albeit in different terms than those stated by de Button and De Maistre. It is not uncommon for retired people or form people who have reached advanced ages in their lives to question their time spent engaging in activities that may not have produced as much happiness as others that they truly wish they had time for. However, as this example indicates, frequently this realization comes too late in life to do anything significant about such situations. By utilizing the awareness discussed in "On Habit" to regard the presence of capitalism for what Hochschild claims it is in "From the Frying Pan into the Fire," people may be able to disentangle themselves from the web of global capitalism…