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Quote by Paul Lafargue

Work

The Right to be Lazy and Other Studies

This book compiles several essays that challenge the prevailing social and economic emphasis on constant work and productivity. The central essay, 'The Right to be Lazy,' presents a critical examination of the duty to work, proposing that technological progress should liberate people from excessive toil rather than enslave them further. The other studies in the collection expand on this theme, exploring the historical and philosophical roots of the work ethic and advocating for a society where leisure and personal fulfillment are prioritized over relentless labor. The work is a classic of socialist and anarchist thought, offering a provocative critique of industrial capitalism's impact on human life. more

Author

Paul Lafargue
Paul Lafargue

Paul Lafargue, born on January 15, 1842, was a prominent French journalist. He played a significant role in the European social movements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly in the labor movement and socialist movement. Lafargue was known for his incisive pen and profound social analysis, and his works had a profound impact on later socialist and Marxist thinkers. more

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“Confronted with this double madness of the labourers killing themselves with over-production and vegetating in abstinence, the great problem of capitalist production is no longer to find producers and to multiply their powers but to discover consumers, to excite their appetites and create in them fictitious needs.”