Practicable Socialism, New SeriesBarnett, S. A. (Samuel Augustus)
Religion
Practicable Socialism, New Series
Barnett, S. A. (Samuel Augustus)
Great Britain -- Social conditions -- 19th century; Social problems; Working class
If such be the constituents of recreation one reflection stands out
clearly, and that is the importance of educating or directing the demand
for amusement. Popular demand can only choose what it knows; it could
not choose the pictures for an art gallery or the best machines for the
workshop, neither can it settle the amusements which are recreative.
Children and young people are with great care fitted for work and taught
how to earn a living; there is equal need that the people be fitted for
recreation, and taught how to enjoy their being. They must know before
they can choose. Education, and not the House of Lords, is the safeguard
of democratic government.
Mr. Dill’s “History of Social Life in the Towns of the Roman Empire
during the First and Second Centuries” shows that there is a striking
likeness between the condition of those times to that which prevails in
England. The millionaires made noble benefactions, there were
magnificent spectacles, there were contests which roused lunatic
excitement as one of the combatants succeeded in some brutal strife,
there was lavish provision of games and great enjoyment in feasting. The
amusement was provided by others’ gifts, and, as Mr. Dill remarks, the
people were more and more drawn from “interest in the things of the
mind”. The games of Rome were steps in the decline and fall of Rome.
The lesson which modern and ancient experience offers is that people
must be as thoughtfully and as seriously prepared for their recreation
as for their work.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account