Quotation
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“I think that there is far too much work done in the world, that immense harm is caused by the belief that work is virtuous.”
Bertrand Russell · Analytic philosophy · Modern · 1932
What does it mean?
There is far too much work done in the world, and immense harm is caused by the belief that work is virtuous. He is attacking a moral idea, not confessing laziness. A rival reading hears a rich man's leisure speaking, careless of people who need the wages. The essay's point is that the work is badly distributed, and that a belief in work's virtue lets the distribution feel like morals. Another reading takes the sentence as a ban on effort.
Did Bertrand Russell really say this?
The library’s label is Well attested. Russell's English, the opening of the 1932 essay later collected in In Praise of Idleness. He argues for a working day short enough that leisure is general, not a privilege. The sentence is a thesis, not a joke he retracts.
Where it comes from
In Praise of Idleness, opening
Approximate date: 1932.
How to use it
A team in a London office praises someone for being always on, and treats a colleague who leaves at five as a moral problem. Russell thinks the praise is the harm. The wages and the staffing are still questions he does not settle with one sentence. The sentence settles the moral framing. If the framing is the obstacle to a shorter day, he thinks you will not see the staffing clearly until you drop it.
A mindset reading
The essay is 1932, in a depression, which is part of the meaning. A praise of idleness in a boom and a praise of idleness when people are idle against their will are not the same act. He knows which one he is writing.
Understand the philosophy
In Praise of Idleness is a public essay, the Russell of the magazines rather than the Principia. Both are his. The opening sentence is secure. The proposals about hours are the part to argue with, and they are still readable.
- ethics
- society
- happiness
FAQ
What does it mean?
There is far too much work done in the world, and immense harm is caused by the belief that work is virtuous. He is attacking a moral idea, not confessing laziness. A rival reading hears a rich man's leisure speaking, careless of people who need the wages. The essay's point is that the work is badly distributed, and that a belief in work's virtue lets the distribution feel like morals. Another reading takes the sentence as a ban on effort.
Did Bertrand Russell really say this?
Well attested. Russell's English, the opening of the 1932 essay later collected in In Praise of Idleness. He argues for a working day short enough that leisure is general, not a privilege. The sentence is a thesis, not a joke he retracts.
Which work is it in?
In Praise of Idleness, opening Approximate date: 1932.