The purpose of work
Jun 17, 2021I am currently reading "Small is Beautiful" by economist E. F. Schumacher. Although the book is almost 50 years old, it feels remarkably fresh and relevant.
This paragraph, in particular, on the purpose of work through a "Buddhist economy" perspective has got me thinking:
"The Buddhist point of view takes the function of work to be at least threefold: to give man a chance to utilise and develop his faculties; to enable him to overcome his egocentredness by joining with other people in a common task; and to bring forth the goods and services needed for a becoming existence. Again, the consequences that flow from this view are endless. To organise work in such a manner that it becomes meaningless, boring, stultifying, or nerve-racking for the worker would be little short of criminal; it would indicate a greater concern with goods than with people, an evil lack of compassion and a soul-destroying degree of attachment to the most primitive side of this worldly existence. Equally, to strive for leisure as an alternative to work would be considered a complete misunderstanding of one of the basic truths of human existence, namely that work and leisure are complementary parts of the same living process and cannot be separated without destroying the joy of work and the bliss of leisure."
I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of this book.
- Mikkel Pagh
Author
