Idleness

[pjkeeley]

Believe it or not, there was a time when even religions thought we should avoid hard work. The Jews invented the Sabbath. Muslims pray like a billion times a day, probably just to get out of working. And where exactly in the Bible does Jesus tells his followers to get a haircut and a real job? Wouldn't that have been a little hypocritical? From what I can tell, Buddhist monks too just sit around all day contemplating. That's basically what Buddhism and Taoism are all about. I would even go as far as to say that God Himself is the ultimate slacker. I mean think about it. He could easily have done a much better job of creation, but he crammed it into a week and then took eternity off. You have to admire that.

The Ancient Greeks knew this. Medieval Catholicism may have been petty, violent, cruel, inhumane, etc. etc. -- but at least it frowned upon the pointless pursuit of money-making for its own sake. Sloth, considered one of seven deadly sins, actually referred to spiritual sloth, in the sense of neglecting one's prayer or one's faith. It did not mean laziness, for which many great minds such as Renee Descartes were known.

The Protestant Reformation changed all this. Suddenly there were Calvinists and Puritans and all sorts of very evil sexless men who decided that life was supposed to be all about suffering. So they invented the Protestant work ethic which says that if you work hard your entire life and deny yourself as many pleasures as possible, then you'll be rewarded in heaven. No dancing, no beer, no fun. Just hard work and loneliness.

And so along comes the Industrial Revolution, for which this idea fits perfectly because the bourgeoisie now need people to work longer in the factories, and not realise how blatantly they're being exploited. Skip forward to the present day, and we now have our mortgages and debt and boardroom meetings and overtime and unfullfilling jobs and midlife crises and all kinds of other misery... but... we get a two week holiday every once in a while right?

What I'm getting at is that work for work's sake is absurd. Rational and freethinking people should realise that we are all idle by nature, and that idleness is a worthy pursuit, so long as you can provide for yourself in the process. Atheists especially should realise that since there is no God and no chance of heaven, we shouldn't waste our lives in hard work and toil, nor force others to do so for us. We would all be much happier and much more fulfilled if we worked less and did more for ourselves. We should be producers rather than consumers. But this does not suit all the boring busy people who run the world who would prefer us labour tirelessly with the promise of a new secular version of heaven -- retirement.

If I've managed to spark the interest of any fellow slackers here, my recommended reading on the subject (if you can be bothered, that is) is Bertrand Russel's 'In Praise of Idleness', Jerome K Jerome's 'Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow' and 'How to Be Idle' by Tom Hodgkinson. The latter has a much longer reading list in the back which I haven't gotten around to browsing yet.  

[SteveS]

Reminds me of a lyric from a current favorite band of mine.  From The Thermals, track entitled An Ear for Baby, off the album The Body, The Blood, The Machine:

We got a job to do
We don't ask we tell you
Work is freedom, sloth is sin
So pull out your dead roots
Pull out your best suit
You know the one they're gonna bury you in

Anyway,

God Himself is the ultimate slacker. I mean think about it. He could easily have done a much better job of creation, but he crammed it into a week and then took eternity off.

Too true - and since he has existed for eternity, there must have been a prior eternity before he created the world.  So, likewise, he screwed around for the previous stretch of eternity and then crammed for the final!  I guess all he needed in world creation was a passing grade.......(whether he passed or not I leave as an "exercise for the reader", haha)

On a more serious note I do take your words to heart.  I am what some would call a "workaholic".  I can't remember the last time I took 2 full weeks vacation, and I work evenings and weekends at an alarming rate.  On the up side, I do not find my job unfulfilling - also, I represent an ownership role in the company, so I'm really working for myself (which is an interesting way to live --- I think I have a unique perspective as a result of my situation).

What I'm getting at is that work for work's sake is absurd.

I agree entirely --- if I could not find enjoyment from working, and I didn't need to, then I would not work.  But sometimes I really enjoy working on things - not just work-work, but other stuff as well.  One of my happiest times in recent memory was clearing a lot of scrub and trees for a soil survey (I was going to build a house on the lot, but the soil analysis was unacceptable    ).  It was back-breaking work, but I felt so darned good doing it - I ached, was stiff, sweaty, but I just plain enjoyed it.  Maybe I'm weird?

Although, there are times when I'm famously idle too --- in other words I don't enjoy working all the time.  So some times I really do like to be idle as well.  That was the best part of being single - I could veg an entire Sunday away without a mom or wife asking "what are you doing?  why don't you get up and do blah blah blahbitty blah whatever-the-fark?"  Sheesh - nag nag nag  :wink:  And then once the kids arrived I seem to be continually tending to their needs and desires (some of this goes with the territory - can't have kids if you want to be lazy all the time - but it can get to be a terrible drain)

I guess in my natural state I would work sometimes and be idle others.  I don't think I can be completely happy doing only one or the other.  (shrugs)

Ultimately, my libertarian bent makes me believe that everyone should be allowed to do what they choose: the "movers and shakers" are no better or worse than the idlers.  It seems senseless to me to say the idlers are worthless or amoral.  However, if the idlers are not supporting themselves and society is "forcing" me to provide for them, this I do call amoral.  I should not be forced to provide for them anymore than they should be forced to work.  Otherwise I've just somehow been tricked into being a slave to the idle: they get to do what they want (be idle) and I'm forced to work for their interests - but why should their interests be more important than mine?  Why shouldn't they be working to support my idle state if I have to work to support theirs?

Just my thoughts on the matter....

[shoruke]

God is a crammer... how am I gonna break this to the teachers at school?
"God's a crammer and he's really smart, why can't I?" Oh right, I don't believe in god.

But yeah, I think that overworking is pretty bad for you. One of my policies is to aim for a balance between excellence and ease. Why do more than you have to do to make people say "nice"?

[pjkeeley]

From The Thermals, track entitled An Ear for Baby, off the album The Body, The Blood, The Machine

Awesome, I need to look into this.

On the up side, I do not find my job unfulfilling - also, I represent an ownership role in the company, so I'm really working for myself (which is an interesting way to live --- I think I have a unique perspective as a result of my situation).

Yeah, working for yourself is a lot different, you're bound to find it more fulfilling. We all need to work in some way to sustain ourselves, and you're doing it more directly than most, which is admirable.

But sometimes I really enjoy working on things - not just work-work, but other stuff as well. One of my happiest times in recent memory was clearing a lot of scrub and trees for a soil survey (I was going to build a house on the lot, but the soil analysis was unacceptable Sad ). It was back-breaking work, but I felt so darned good doing it - I ached, was stiff, sweaty, but I just plain enjoyed it. Maybe I'm weird?

Nah, doing stuff like that yourself is great. We can't be idle all the time, out of sheer necessity if nothing else   -- though I do think there's a simple, almost mindless pleasure in doing occasional jobs at hand when they require a little manual labour. As long as it's something you do freely and at your own pace. And after all, getting them done gives us more time to be idle...

Although, there are times when I'm famously idle too --- in other words I don't enjoy working all the time. So some times I really do like to be idle as well. That was the best part of being single - I could veg an entire Sunday away without a mom or wife asking "what are you doing? why don't you get up and do blah blah blahbitty blah whatever-the-fark?" Sheesh - nag nag nag Wink And then once the kids arrived I seem to be continually tending to their needs and desires (some of this goes with the territory - can't have kids if you want to be lazy all the time - but it can get to be a terrible drain)

Yeah vegging out on a Sunday, sounds a lot like what I have 'planned' for tomorrow, hehe... But you're right, a family can reduce your idling time significantly. But family life can be such a pleasure that I wouldn't say you are less happy for it. A lot of people are deprived of the joy of simply spending time with their families these days, and it's a real shame.

However, if the idlers are not supporting themselves and society is "forcing" me to provide for them, this I do call amoral. I should not be forced to provide for them anymore than they should be forced to work. Otherwise I've just somehow been tricked into being a slave to the idle: they get to do what they want (be idle) and I'm forced to work for their interests - but why should their interests be more important than mine? Why shouldn't they be working to support my idle state if I have to work to support theirs?

Very true, but it has a lot to do with the kind of society we live in. I don't think a welfare state is in any way an ideal society so I am probably closer to how you think. I'd much rather see people choose for themselves to accommodate more idleness into their lives. It's possible, people just need to think for themselves more, not to simply accept the social pressures telling us that hard work and 'getting a job' is unquestionably necessary for us to live a good life. That's bollocks. Once upon a time people did not 'get jobs'. They lived mostly in towns and villages and the economy was mostly local. Each person was brought up into a particular trade and therefore everyone had a means of supporting themselves and their families for life. You didn't need to whore yourself out to the local supermarket for most of your waking hours just to get a near-minimum wage, only to be 'laid off' one day due to a fluctuating economy. Someone down the road would be growing vegetables and another was tending livestock, and because everyone made their own living each could provide for one another. Meanwhile, you could take pride in whatever it was you were good at, whether that be mending shoes or making lamps, or whatever it be. And you only needed to work as much as you yourself needed or wanted to, not as much as some faceless management in another country 'needs' or wants you to.

Even if we accept this way of life might be gone forever (and I don't believe for one minute that it is), the amount we work is still disproportionate to society's needs. As Betrand Russel points out, it would be possible to have everyone work just four hours a day (I guess provided you weren't too fussy about what kind of work it was) and still have a functional civilization. It's just that the people that stand to gain happen to be the powerless majority, whereas those who'd have us work our lives away have a lot more power and influence. Ultimately though we wouldn't need a welfare system if people realised that another way of living, a happier way, was within their reach. We can all help, in small ways, by supporting local businesses and community projects, doing things for ourselves, learning how to enjoy our lives and showing others how to do the same, educating children that hard work is not something to be valued for it's own sake, and ultimately CARING for each other, instead of mindlessly trying to COMPETE with one another all the time!

Why do more than you have to do to make people say "nice"?

Very true, shoruke.

[SteveS]

An insightful post, pj - I really enjoyed reading this, and I'm inclined to agree with you on the lifestyle points.

One of my "escapist fantasies" is long distance sailing (or "cruising" - ocean voyaging - that sort of thing).  I'm an occasional daysailer, but I've never just headed across the great blue - yet a piece of me longs to do so.  In order to ever have the time to do that I would require a major lifestyle change.  But, I was reading about a guy who was flying to some place or another, like he did basically every week for his job, and he was complaining to his supervisor (who was with him) how dissatisfied he was with his life and how he'd rather be cruising.  So, his supervisor said "write down what you want to do, and what you need to accomplish it, and then go after it".  He realized he had enough money to buy a boat and keep it sailing for many years, especially after selling his house, so his first step he wrote down was "quit my job" - he allegedly did so on the spot!

While I don't admire him for walking out without notice on his job (esp. after his supervisor gave him such friendly advice), I do admire the sense of courage it took to so radically and precipitously change his unhappy lifestyle --- realizing that he didn't have to live his life the way he was, so, change it!

[donkeyhoty]

pj, you sound like a socialist, and I mean that in a good way, not in the "better dead than red", delusion that permeated the cold war west.  Although, geographically Australia would be the east, but you know what I mean.