 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
Our morality is ascetic, which makes us regard work as a virtue; it follows that production is good and consumption is bad. This ascetic twist has produced a world system in which half the world is poor because it produces too much and the other half because it consumes too little.
Source: Mortals and Others; B. Russell's American Essays, v.1
More info.:https://russell-j.com/GO-MAD.HTM
* a brief comment: original text in Japanese, translated with DeepL.com (free version)
The world would be a much less painful place if the rich (countries, regions and people) supported the poor (countries, regions and people). However, for various reasons, such support is limited. Overproduction can cause prices to fall too low, excess can be thrown away, and underproduction can lead to conflict and even starvation. In today's world, where such economic inequalities are so severe, attitudes towards 'labour' vary from country to country and region to region.
Many people in developed countries no longer believe that labour is a virtue, and there are quite a few people who would say that Russell's point is out of date. Russell argued that in the modern era of high technological standards, the world could go round if 'everyone' in the world worked four hours a day (with production adjustments). However, for various reasons, such as the fact that some people work too much and many people cannot work even if they want to (unemployed), that women cannot work enough because they are tied up with childcare (due to lack of childcare facilities, etc.), that there is a privileged class (upper class citizens) who are exempt from the 'virtue of labour', and that overproduction and underproduction coexist, the working day has been reduced to one day. For a number of reasons, such as the coexistence of overproduction and underproduction, it would be unimaginable to reduce working hours to four or five hours a day."
Even if we say that 'labour is a virtue', there seems to be a difference between the ethics and morality we apply to ourselves and those we apply to others. Labour is essential to enjoy an economically prosperous life, but making labour an object (thinking of labour as a virtue) brings unhappiness. Many people seem to think so, but if, for example, one's subordinates think that labour is moderate (working 6 or 7 hours a day is enough!) and intend to enjoy life, etc. If, for example, your subordinate insists that he/she intends to work only moderately (6 or 7 hours a day is enough!) and enjoy life, even if you reluctantly admit it, they will be regarded (or considered) as 'outside the force' and will not be seen (or regarded) as a full-fledged worker thereafter.