the right to be lazy
The author writes of a “strange madness” that has “taken hold of the working class in nations where capitalist civilization reigns,” in the “Fake Age” era that he lived in, during which the quality of products had worsened to “promote sales and lessen their lifespan.” This sounds familiar.
The bourgeois revolution’s “Rights of Man” did not include the “Rights of Laziness” - the bourgeois class instituted a wage labor system to maximize profits and consumption as productive power exponentially increased. Christian, economic, and freethinking “morality,” the author explains, is used to promote a passion for work, whereas work should instead “become a mere condiment to flavor the tasty dish of laziness.” He argues in favor of three-hour workdays and encourages workers to consume the goods they produce - calling for the proletariat to demand “what’s mine.”
The author provides a historical context for his arguments, stating that in ancient societies like the Greeks and Romans, where war was the norm, a separation of tasks became necessary; a “free” man could not be expected to provide both manual labor and fulfill his role in looking after the Republic as a soldier, statesman, etc. Therefore, labor and trades were done by slaves. Aristotle proclaimed that if tools could do their own work, there would be no need for slaves, and the author argues that given the contemporary capability of tools, Aristotle’s dream is “our reality” - that the machine is “our savior.”
Perhaps the author would be impressed by current rates of consumption of material goods among workers, though, given his dedication to rationality, I hesitate to imagine they would not alarm or even disgust him. The means of modern production, wealth inequality, and result-obsessed work culture might further convince him that the fight for the right to be lazy is a lost cause.
notes:
Socialist Frenchman writes about class issues in 19th century, and commits “rational suicide” in the 20th
This particular Frenchman, however, had a unique background. He was born in Cuba of mixed heritage - French Christian, French Jewish, Jamaican Indian, and Dominican mulatto, and once remarked that “the blood of three oppressed races runs in my veins”
Greeks and Romans, Romans and Greeks - Oh, Western Civilization, you are so amazing! 😍