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Free Time and Work: A Matter of Ideology

December 25, 2017

Society

citizen, democracy, economy, liberty, politics, success, suffering

Sometime ago I read an article about working conditions in Finland (that developed, modern, free Nordic country). It described how utterly depressed Finnish workers are, being forced to chase income in second or third part-time jobs, then returning home exhausted and crying. Needless to say, try to imagine the situation in places like the USA. No free time, only work. What’s the ideological connection between work and free time? Let’s take a closer look at systems that valorize and promote work versus free time, to get a better feel of the situation.

slave worker with no free time
“It’s called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe in it”
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Mediocrity: Why Is It so Fashionable?

December 20, 2017

Society

art, education, injustice, mediocrity, writing

Let’s talk about mediocrity. Let’s talk about art, too. I’m looking at the charts for the week of April 30, 2016. The song at the top is a song by Rihanna (feat. Drake) called “Work”. Let’s take a look at the lyrics.

Work, work, work, work, work, work
He said me haffi
Work, work, work, work, work, work!
He see me do me
Dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt!
So me put in
Work, work, work, work, work, work
When you ah gon’
Learn, learn, learn, learn, learn
Meh nuh care if him
Hurt, hurt, hurt, hurt, hurting

Now, let’s take a look at the song that was at the top of the list in the same week 30 years ago. I discover it was “5150” by Van Halen. Let’s take a look at the lyrics of that song.

The love in me is never straight and narrow
Unless the love is tried and true
You take a chance with new beginnings
Still we try, win or lose, take the highs
With the blues

It might not be something that would raise Samuel Coleridge from his grave, but hey, I doubt it would make him roll over in it, either.

Parthenon, the very opposite of mediocrity
Parthenon, the very opposite of mediocrity.
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Being an “Idiot” and Civil Responsibility

December 19, 2017

Society

citizen, democracy, idiocy, ignorance, reason, responsibility

The words “idiot” and “idiocy” originate from the ancient Greek word ιδιώτης (“idiotes”), which has sadly lost its meaning in modern Greek. Nowadays, it means “a private employee” (i.e. in contrast to a public employee). But in ancient Greek, its meaning was far more intriguing: it meant someone so self-centered and absorbed with private matters, that he neglected the duties of citizenship: to discuss, vote, and participate in matters of public interest.

 
idiocy democracy
The grandeur of Athens materialized also because its citizens were not “idiots”
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