The right to be lazy, and other studiesLafargue, Paul
Philosophy
The right to be lazy, and other studies
Lafargue, Paul
Hours of labor; Social problems; Socialism; Working class
And nevertheless, in spite of the over-production of goods, in spite of
the adulterations in manufacturing, the laborers encumber the market
in countless numbers imploring: Work! Work! Their superabundance ought
to compel them to bridle their passion; on the contrary it carries
it to the point of paroxysm. Let a chance for work present itself,
thither they rush; then they demand twelve, fourteen hours to glut
their appetite for work, and the next day they are again thrown out
on the pavement with no more food for their vice. Every year in
all industries lockouts occur with the regularity of the seasons.
Over-work, destructive of the organism, is succeeded by absolute rest
during two or four months, and when work ceases the pittance ceases.
Since the vice of work is diabolically attached to the heart of the
laborers, since its requirements stifle all the other instincts of
nature, since the quantity of work required by society is necessarily
limited by consumption and by the supply of raw materials, why devour
in six months the work of a whole year; why not distribute it uniformly
over the twelve months and force every workingman to content himself
with six or five hours a day throughout the year instead of getting
indigestion from twelve hours during six months? Once assured of their
daily portion of work, the laborers will no longer be jealous of each
other, no longer fight to snatch away work from each other's hands and
bread from each other's mouths, and then, not exhausted in body and
mind, they will begin to practice the virtues of laziness.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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