Bertrand Russell and idleness

Anyone who knows anything about me knows how averse I am to the very idea of working. Needless to say, a person like Bertrand Russell endears himself to me by saying, "I think that there is far too much work done in the world, that immense harm is caused by the belief that work is virtuous, and that what needs to be preached in modern industrial countries is quite different from what always has been preached." I KNEW it. I was always right and this crazy idea that work is good for you needs to be consigned to the dust-bin. Russell supports me, so there!

One person supporting me does not make me right when the majority support the opposite, you say? Well, Russell has an answer to that as well - "The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd; indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible." He is a great chap to have by your side in an argument. Always has a pithy reply to any counter-argument.

I know that you people have this vague idea that when one chap argues he is right and the rest of humanity is wrong, he belongs in a mental asylum. Not really, since people tend to believe that what they cannot do is not worth doing, and what they can do is the only right thing to do. Sour grapes and all that! And, true to the philosophy, Russell identifies WHY people so elevate the concept of working - "To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization, and at present very few people have reached this level." Naturally, therefore, people do not prefer leisure and want an employer to so fill up their time that they have no need for the 'intelligence to fill leisure'.

To all those who have the intelligence to fill their leisure but are also filled with a vague sense of guilt about 'wasting their time', I have some wise words that will eliminate that unnecessary guilt and fill them joy. Of course, it is thanks to Bertrand Russell, who I am almost tempted to call 'Bertie' - so close I feel to him - but for the fear that you may take him for Bertram Wooster, who is a noble example of idleness but has failed to acquire a reputation for being right. Russell says to all the leisured people - "The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time."

The converse, I hold, is true. The time you do not enjoy is ALL wasted time. Bertrand Russell does not say so in so many words but he has a far more dangerous thing to say - "One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important."

NOW you know! If you want to seek inmates for a lunatic asylum, seek them from among the 'workers' of the world. Going by this definition, a lot of them are probably approaching a nervous breakdown!