Kelley Walker wrote:
>
> At 11:29 AM 7/6/01 -0400, David Hearne wrote:
> > >Christian ideology aside, what is wrong with having children work
> >
> >
> >Besides, how do you know that "punishing them for slacking" will not
> >create the kind of idle consumers you decry? Might such discipline
> >make them less likely to question authority, including the authority
> >of an advertiser?
> >
> > -- David
>
> indeed.
It's been 20 years since I read Thucydides, but if I recall correctly, Pericles (as reported by T) argued that the Athenians could/would wage war more effectively than the Spartans because Athenian luxury was more worth fighting for than was spartan 'spartaness.' He may have been correct. The Navy found out in World War 2 that those who had had a relatively comfortable life could better endure protracted hardship and/or isolation (arctic duty, submarine duty) than those whose lives had offered little comfort. I don't know if other research has supported or questioned this.
Carrol