reverse reviewed The right to be lazy by Paul Lafargue
Review of 'The right to be lazy' on 'Goodreads'
How can I rate a book that is too old for me to understand fully? I expected something different, a modern philosophical text on laziness, or at least, not wanting to work, but what I got was an old, feisty, ironic (?) text on the economic realities of its day. It's impressive how relevant its observations still feel, though, as its main thesis is (I think) that with current technological advances, we should only be working 3 hours a day. And this was pronounced amidst the technological level of the 1900s.
I think not all of its characterization is supposed to be taken literally (specifically, does the author really think that capitalists overconsume out of charity to workers? I don't think so, it works so much easier as a scathing joke, but what do I know), and on the other hand, it kind of is.
All in all, short read, …
How can I rate a book that is too old for me to understand fully? I expected something different, a modern philosophical text on laziness, or at least, not wanting to work, but what I got was an old, feisty, ironic (?) text on the economic realities of its day. It's impressive how relevant its observations still feel, though, as its main thesis is (I think) that with current technological advances, we should only be working 3 hours a day. And this was pronounced amidst the technological level of the 1900s.
I think not all of its characterization is supposed to be taken literally (specifically, does the author really think that capitalists overconsume out of charity to workers? I don't think so, it works so much easier as a scathing joke, but what do I know), and on the other hand, it kind of is.
All in all, short read, interesting to at least see how relevant a criticism of wage slavery written centuries ago can be still be today.
