Medicating children

Wojtek Sokolowski sokol at jhu.edu
Fri May 25 08:46:59 PDT 2001


At 05:24 PM 5/25/01 +0200, Peter vH wrote:
>Since when did work, as opposed to labour, possess virtue? The 12-year
>old Amish boy is as little engaging in the 'free development of each'
>as the kid in the mall - the problem, from what I've seen, has much
>more got to do with enforced idleness and the commodification of public
>space (you have a choice between a shitty neighbourhood which you have to
>take as given, and a glitzy mall which you have to take as given - what
>choice, what variety!) than a lack of imposition of work. Tell
>me, Wojtek, is the imposition of work on adults also character building?

What makes you think that work is not a part of the human nature? The ancients certainly believed that (cf. the Greek concept of "demiurge" = artisan-god). And how about hobbies, crafts, and volunteering people often pursue?

The fact is that creative work has been hijacked and turned into profit-making drudgery by capitalist bosses. But if I read Marxist critique of capitalism properly, the point is to restore creativity and dignity in human work, not to enforce idleness. Forced idleness is hell (cf. prison).

PS. I do not think that Amish children are being "forced" to work any more than being "forced" to their lifestyle that renouces most of the dubious wonders of modern capitalism. But that is, of course, subject to empirical verification.

wojtek



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