• LillyPip@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    If you search for the phrase ‘nobody wants to work’ or ‘no one wants to work’ on books.google.com you’ll find loads of examples. I narrowed my search to 1800-1900 and found many articles and books with that phrase; interestingly, here’s one basically advocating for anti-work in 1885:

    Q: I am now talking about the economic law and not the divine law. What is the use of working if we can get all the houses we want to live in, and all the clothes we want to wear, and all that we want to eat without working? Nobody wants to work, I suppose, for the sake of working. Why not engage in intellectual pursuits and stop working so hard? A: Some are doing that. You are, as well as many others, and you probably work a great deal longer hours than ever you worked upon a farm.

    Most are not like that, but the standard complaint (and a caveat: I haven’t read the whole text). I just found this one fascinating. It’s an intriguing search, anyway.