In addition to the postings on the views on Rifkin's theory
(thanks for all the interesting informations)
I'd like to ask you all for your visions for the developement of the
regular amount of working hours in the next 5, 10, 20 years!
I give you some visions from the past:
Aistotle, 350 B.C.: "If each tool could - by order, or knowing by itself
- do the work it is ment to do, like the artistic products of Daedalus
where moving automatically, or the tripods of Hepaestus where doing
their holy work voluntarily, the master would not need assistents and
the bosses no slaves." (translation from a german version of his work
"Politics" - sorry, I don't have an english source)
Lukian, a greek writer, 150 A.D.: "6 hours are enough for work, the
others say to mankind : live!"
Thomas Morus, about 1515 A.D. : people in Utopia are working 6 hours a
day
Paul Lafargue, leader of the french and spanish labour movement wrote
his essay "The Right to Idleness - Refutation of the Right of Work from
1848"
in 1880. He is pleading for a 3-hours workday.
He is quoting Aristotle and writes: "The dream of Aristotle has come
true today (1880!!). Our machines are doing, with fiery breath, with
untiring limbs of steel, with wonderful inexhaustible procreative power,
teachable and automatically their holy work...the machine is the
redeemer of mankind, the god that is bying mankind off from work, the
god who will bring them leisure and freedom."
1889: International conference in Paris: 8-8-8, 8 hours work, 8 hours
leisure time, 8 hours sleep !
Bertrand Russell: we already had the "needle"-example - 4 hours workday!
André Gorz, 1989: 20.000 hours of work in a lifetime
What are our visions for the next 5, 10, 20 years?
With best wishes, Robert Neunteufel
Visit my personal website: http://members.EUnet.at/ro.neunteufel !
