A FEW THOUGHTS ABOUT WORK by Gerald Desmond

A FEW THOUGHTS ABOUT WORK

Gerald Desmond

By working in co-operation, as the socialists propose, the people would, undoubtedly, be able to “do more work” (as measured by resultant products) in fewer hours and with less labor.

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We Socialists are not loafers. We have no objection to doing our fair share of socially necessary work. What we do object to, is keeping by our industry some capitalist loafer who is too lazy to do his fair share of socially necessary work.

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To do little work you give a little of his or her labor power to support the aged, the young and those rendered through sickness, accident or any other cause, incapable of producing for themselves. This is a just claim of humanity upon us, which the socialists recognize.

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We believe in “dignity” of labor all right, and most of us are ready to admit that a certain amount of industrial occupation is a good thing. But we do not believe that to work long hours at extreme high pressure as most of us are forced to do to-day, is a good thing, or likely to lend to the improvement of humanity, either mentally, morally or physically.

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Many individuals “work” very hard corrupting legislatures, securing rebates from railroads, etc. Such “workers,” called grafters, are unproductive to society at large, and yet, under the present system their work is paid for at much higher rate and is in a greater demand than that of the useful and the productive worker in the industrial field.

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It is the impudent claim of the plutocracy—the claim that they, an idle and frequently vicious and wasteful class—are entitled to four-fifths of the value of our products, that we are fighting. This is not a just claim. It is simply a impudent presumption, and the socialist will never allow it nor recognize its justice.

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If Socialism were all the bad things its enemies say it is, still it would not be half as bad as capitalism is.