R: Close Shop on the Sabbath
R: Close Shop on the Sabbath
Wednesday, September 14th, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. in the Berkeley Mendenhall Room
Wednesday, September 14th, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. in the Berkeley Mendenhall Room
George Henry Boughton, Pilgrims Going to Church, 1867, oil on canvas, 73.7 x 132.1 cm, New York Historical Society, New York.
Throughout America's history, many states have passed "blue laws" restricting sales on Sundays. This tradition took its roots from the idea of the Sabbath rest presented in the Bible. Today, these laws are much less common and restrict only certain sales, most frequently alcohol. This allows individual businesses to decide: Ought there be a day on which business is not conducted, a day dedicated to recreation and reflection? Is this choice sustainable in a capitalist society?
The choice to refrain from business one day of the week belongs to a larger ideological framework of human nature and the nature of society. Is there a need for and purpose to rest? How does this need fit into the structure of a (capitalist) society?