The right to be lazy, and other studies — John Shaqi
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
What a miserable abortion of the revolutionary principles of
the bourgeoisie! What woeful gifts from its god Progress! The
philanthropists hail as benefactors of humanity those who having done
nothing to become rich, give work to the poor. Far better were it to
scatter pestilence and to poison the springs than to erect a capitalist
factory in the midst of a rural population. Introduce factory work,
and farewell joy, health and liberty; farewell to all that makes life
beautiful and worth living.[11]
And the economists go on repeating to the laborers, "Work, to increase
social wealth", and nevertheless an economist, Destutt de Tracy,
answers: "It is in poor nations that people are comfortable, in
rich nations they are ordinarily poor"; and his disciple Cherbuliez
continues: "The laborers themselves in co-operating toward the
accumulation of productive capital contribute to the event which sooner
or later must deprive them of a part of their wages". But deafened and
stupified by their own howlings, the economists answer: "Work, always
work, to create your prosperity", and in the name of Christian meekness
a priest of the Anglican Church, the Rev. Mr. Townshend, intones: Work,
work, night and day. By working you make your poverty increase and your
poverty releases us from imposing work upon you by force of law. The
legal imposition of work "gives too much trouble, requires too much
violence and makes too much noise. Hunger, on the contrary, is not only
a pressure which is peaceful, silent and incessant, but as it is the
most natural motive for work and industry, it also provokes to the
most powerful efforts." Work, work, proletarians, to increase social
wealth and your individual poverty; work, work, in order that becoming
poorer, you may have more reason to work and become miserable. Such is
the inexorable law of capitalist production.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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