The Necessity of Work

One of the constant criticisms of socialism is the apparent lack of incentive workers have to be productive ("if you and your family aren't in danger of starving, then why bother being productive?").  Apparently, to be a socialist is to be against human nature and the laws of history.  The problem with this criticism is that it makes the basic assumption that history, and in turn, human nature, is static.  I will concede the point that perhaps a sustainable socialist country will not exist without economic incentive only under the assumption that this country exists within a vacuum, enclosed in an ultimately materialistic, capitalist, incentive-driven world.  However, to assume that there cannot be a transformation of the way we as humans view one another and the work we do is naive and against the true laws of history.  Human history is a dynamic process, ever-changing, and certainly not static.  To think that we act now as those living in feudal societies acted several centuries ago is preposterous.  In fact, it would have been a commonly-heard argument in the days of feudalism that "capitalism can never exist within our society.  It is against human nature and the laws of history..."  While I don't think simply placing a current population into a socialist system of governance would work as intended, that doesn't mean one should give up hope on socialism or leftism.  It simply means that we as leftists carry much of the burden of launching us into the next historical epoch, one where we are driven not by selfishness and greed.

As I'm currently reading Edmund Wilson's To The Finland Station, I'll insert a few related passages that I feel are noteworthy.  Here is one referencing Marx's description of the bourgeoisie's transformation of society in The Communist Manifesto:

The bourgeoisie has ... ruthlessly torn asunder the motley feudal ties that bound men to their 'natural superiors'; It has left no other bond between man and man but crude self-interest and callous 'cash payment'.  It has drowned pious zeal, chivalrous enthusiasm, and popular sentimentalism in the chill waters of selfish calculation.  It has degraded personal dignity to the level of exchange value.

Obviously, this deals with the current attitude of self-importance, greed, and emphasis on personal wealth and value.  However, this passage also tells us something else.  It epitomizes the capabilities of any social movement, regardless of whether it leads to the benefit or detriment of society.  It is critical to not let those unable to see the power of social change fool others into staying subservient under the mindset that they are unable to do anything.

Now, where does work lie in a transformed socialist society?  (Note: the practice of creating revolutionary social change is not the focus in this article).  Socialism, contrary to popular belief, does not necessarily have to lack the productive capabilities which capitalism supposedly offers.  On the other hand, it is not a system where millions are forced to work back-breaking jobs against their will, which occurs now through the process of wage slavery (of course, this also occurred under authoritarian systems, such as Stalinism and Maoism, which are not to be confused with true communism or libertarian socialism).  Gracchus Babeuf, one of the late French revolutionaries of the 1790's, laid out some of the key elements and tenets of socialism in his defense shortly before he was sentenced to death:

We know that every man has an equal right to the enjoyment of every benefit, and that the real purpose of society is to defend that right and to increase the common benefit.  And work, like enjoyment, should be shared by all.  Nature has decreed that we all must work; it is a crime to evade this duty.  And it is a crime to take for oneself at the expense of other people the products of industry or the earth.  In a society which was really sound, there would be neither poor nor rich.  There would be no such system of property as ours.  Our laws of heredity and inalienability are "humanicide" institutions.  The monopoly of the land by individuals, the possession of its produce in excess of their wants, is nothing more nor less than theft; and all our civil institutions, our ordinary business transactions, are the deeds of a perpetual brigandage, authorized by barbarous laws."

This vision of a socialist society, one which emphasizes the necessity of work, is what must drive us to further our goals.  No longer can work be driven by economic incentives, and as Marx put it, "selfish calculation".  This mentality has actually, in effect, created an anti-work attitude.  When the level of respect paid to a person's work is a function of said person's income, we fail to see the importance in countless professions.  The fixation our society has on income has also led to the degradation of many important jobs.  Why would one wish to be a teacher when the job is vilified and those already working in the profession are having their rights stripped away left and right?  Once one's profession is detached from the economic incentives it provides, only then will we be able to destroy the anti-work mentality which exists today in non-socialist society.


Work is necessary and has the ability to be seen by humanity as a virtue.  Unfortunately, we don't recognize that today.  When someone becomes unemployed, the solution is not to give them benefits and tell them to find a job; we must first realize why they are in their situation.  Democrats are not capable of disassociating labor with our current system of wage slavery, as they try and place band-aids on festering sores.  The disenfranchisement of humans around the world is at an all-time high and it is thanks to our warped view of community, work, and cooperation.  It is the duty of a socialist to do their part in changing that view.

Until we achieve our vision, let us be inspired by this. 


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Chomsky discusses the virtue of work in detail here.
Marx passage: Edmund Wilson, To The Finland Station, pg. 158
Babeuf passage: Edmund Wilson, To The Finland Station, pg. 76