In our civilized societies we are rich. Why then are the many poor? Why this painful drudgery for the masses? Why, even to the best-paid workman, this uncertainty for the morrow, in the midst of all the wealth inherited from the past, and in spite of the powerful means of production, which could ensure comfort to all, in return for a few hours daily toil? - Peter Kropotkin (1892)
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I mean, your associated quote does very much advocate trading hours of your time just to survive, so I’m not really sure how to reconcile it with your caption on the image.
I think it’s important to frame this kind of argument very carefully. There is a misconception that communists and socialists just don’t want to work and want a free ride.
Communists, socialists, and anarchists are fine with work. They are not fine with exploitation. Work is not necessarily exploitive. Work should be rewarded and incentivized.
But, in a civilized society, your ability to merely survive should not be dependent on your ability or willingness to work. That doesn’t mean that the quality of life of someone who chooses not to work should be the same as someone who chooses to work. It only means that choosing not to work should not be a death sentence.
How any particular society may choose to implement such a system of non-exploitative, minimally coercive work may vary. But the main point is giving people more control over their work, their working conditions, and their lives generally.
“From each according to their ability, to each according to their need” still applies. You’re just more likely to also get the things you want if you do valuable labor.
Edit: another point. I’d argue that leftists are MORE okay with work than capitalism enjoyers because they do not want people to be paid for simply owning things and not doing labor. The goal of capitalism - how to win capitalism - is to just own things and exploit others’ labor, not to work. How to win Socialism is doing the job you enjoy/are best at/are most willing to do for the reward offered - that’s it. Simple as.
Shit if I could not work and live in a barely kept together apartment or trailer home eating only bread and drinking tap water, I’d be happy af. Work does nothing but depress me and my therapist hasn’t been able to help with that.
but people would have to work for you to maintain that lifestyle
That “lifestyle” of near poverty.
I think you’re missing OP’s point. Those basics of shelter and food can easily be covered by society, in the modern age, with our understanding of science allowing agriculture to be a piece of piss now-a-days compared with how it used to be. We have machines that can do the labour of hundreds, thousands, of people. We have computers that allow for the tracking of a million and one data points.
Yes, people would have to work to provide someone with bread and water. But it’s such a minimal amount of work in the grand scheme of things, that why should we really care? Those that work will live better lifestyles, will reap greater rewards. But why should those that don’t work be left to starve and die when for such a tiny percentage of society’s expenditure they can have their basic needs covered?
Perhaps, after a year of not working and recovering from the rat race, they may even see the value in working again. If it benefits their community, instead of having to work 40+ hours a week just to cover their basic requirements. Work can, and should, be far more flexible than it currently is. If our basic necessities are met then that allows for flexibility, it allows for labour to adapt as society’s needs change over time.
It prevents exploitation, as you no longer need to work but want to work to improve your situation or that of your community.
But the neccecities of life, the work of doctors, farmers, electricians is all work. Things people have to dedicate their lives to. To recieve the fruits of that work, the common person needs to work in their own way. Doctors dont want to work every day of their carreer. Plently of neccecary jobs are worked by people who never would want to do it, even once. To ask for their time and effort while giving nothing of your own is entitled.
Lol. Patient variant: once again, yes, all of it is also work. No, to do that one does not have to dedicate their whole lives to it. No, asking a miniscule of collective time and effort is not entitled
Normal variant: dude(ss), you seriously gonna complain about minimally covering survival of some folk while having families with wealth enough for several generations to live fucking awesome without any need to work a second in their life? Are you nuts or something?
Im not saying its perfect. But all people that can work should work, without exception and it should be a requirement for housing, food and medical care.
So you wish for indentured servitude? Sisyphean toil? Slavery? For the masses. What a prick.
