Secularization and Idolatry in Amazon's World

This brilliant lecture by Dr. William Cavanaugh from DePaul University explores two sides of the modern economy: the rationalized and disenchanted world of the Amazon warehouse, and the enchanted world of products that magically appear on our doorsteps. He argues that these are two sides of the same coin. First, he shows that even Max Weber himself could not shake free of the idea that modernity was haunted by enchantment in production. Second, he will look at Karl Marx’s analysis of enchantment in our consumption. Finally, he will argue that the biblical concept of idolatry captures our current cultural moment: a shift in what we worship to things and systems of our own creation. These idols drain us of life itself.