Process
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Document Notes
The author argues that the concept of work as virtuous is harmful, and that too much work is done in the world. The morality of work is compared to that of slavery, and the idea that leisure is essential to civilization is introduced. The author further argues that the notion of economic justice and the reduction of working hours should be considered, allowing more leisure to be distributed evenly throughout the community.
Highlights
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work is a duty, and a man should not receive wages in proportion to what he has produced, but in proportion to his virtue as exemplified by his industry.
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Suppose that, at a given moment, a certain number of people are engaged in the manufacture of pins. They make as many pins as the world needs, working (say) eight hours a day. Someone makes an invention by which the same number of men can make twice as many pins: pins are already so cheap that hardly any more will be bought at a lower price. In a sensible world, everybody concerned in the manufacturing of pins would take to working four hours instead of eight, and everything else would go on as before. But in the actual world this would be thought demoralizing. The men still work eight hours, there are too many pins, some employers go bankrupt, and half the men previously concerned in making pins are thrown out of work. There is, in the end, just as much leisure as on the other plan, but half the men are totally idle while half are still overworked. In this way, it is insured that the unavoidable leisure sha ll cause misery all round instead of being a universal source of happiness. Can anything more insane be imagined?