Sunday, July 27, 2025

no. 1107

 “In all classes, from the lowest to almost the highest, economic fear governs men's thoughts by day and their dreams at night, making their work nerve-racking and their leisure unrefreshing. This ever-present terror is, I think, the main cause of the mood of madness which has swept over great parts of the civilized world.”


― Bertrand Russell, In Praise of Idleness and Other Essays (1935), Ch. VII, The Case for Socialism, 3. Economic Insecurity, p. 90

'In Praise of Idleness and Other Essays' is a 1935 collection of essays by the philosopher Bertrand Russell. The collection includes essays on the subjects of sociology, philosophy and economics. In the eponymous essay, Russell proposes that a balanced allocation of labour, yielding shorter workdays, would decrease unemployment and heighten human happiness through expanded leisure time, consequently encouraging greater involvement in artistic and scientific pursuits.

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