Why Men Fight: A method of abolishing the international duelRussell, Bertrand
Philosophy
Why Men Fight: A method of abolishing the international duel
Russell, Bertrand
Liberty; Property; Social problems; State, The; War
It must be admitted, however, that much of the mechanical work which is
necessary in industry is probably not capable of being made interesting
in itself. But it will seem less tedious than it does at present if
those who do it have a voice in the management of their industry.
And men who desire leisure for other occupations might be given the
opportunity of doing uninteresting work during a few hours of the day
for a low wage; this would give an opening to all who wished for some
activity not immediately profitable to themselves. When everything
that is possible has been done to make work interesting, the residue
will have to be made endurable, as almost all work is at present, by
the inducement of rewards outside the hours of labor. But if these
rewards are to be satisfactory, it is essential that the uninteresting
work should not necessarily absorb a man’s whole energies, and that
opportunities should exist for more or less continuous activities
during the remaining hours. Such a system might be an immeasurable
boon to artists, men of letters, and others who produce for their own
satisfaction works which the public does not value soon enough to
secure a living for the producers; and apart from such rather rare
cases, it might provide an opportunity for young men and women with
intellectual ambitions to continue their education after they have
left school, or to prepare themselves for careers which require an
exceptionally long training.
The evils of the present system result from the separation between the
several interests of consumer, producer, and capitalist. No one of
these three has the same interests as the community or as either of
the other two. The coöperative system amalgamates the interests of
consumer and capitalist; syndicalism would amalgamate the interests
of producer and capitalist. Neither amalgamates all three, or makes
the interests of those who direct industry quite identical with those
of the community. Neither, therefore, would wholly prevent industrial
strife, or obviate the need of the State as arbitrator. But either
would be better than the present system, and probably a mixture of
both would cure most of the evils of industrialism as it exists now.
It is surprising that, while men and women have struggled to achieve
political democracy, so little has been done to introduce democracy in
industry. I believe incalculable benefits might result from industrial
democracy, either on the coöperative model or with recognition of a
trade or industry as a unit for purposes of government, with some
kind of Home Rule such as syndicalism aims at securing. There is
no reason why all governmental units should be geographical: this
system was necessary in the past because of the slowness of means of
communication, but it is not necessary now. By some such system many
men might come to feel again a pride in their work, and to find again
that outlet for the creative impulse which is now denied to all but a
fortunate few.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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