Quotes About Labor

We should not see those great displacements of capital, of labor, and of population, that legislative measures occasion; displacements that render so uncertain and precarious the very sources of existence, and thus enlarge to such an extent the responsibility of Governments.

The separation of employments, the division of labor, which results from the faculty of exchanging, causes each man, instead of struggling on his own account to overcome all the obstacles that surround him, to combat only one of them; he overcomes that one not for himself but for his fellow men, who in turn render him the same service.

Man can only derive life and enjoyment from a perpetual search and appropriation; that is, from a perpetual application of his faculties to objects, or from labor. This is the origin of property. But also he may live and enjoy, by seizing and appropriating the productions of the faculties of his fellow men. This is the origin of plunder.

Charmed with his discourse, delighted to learn that it is so easy to promote, by legislating, the prosperity of a people, the law-makers voted the restriction. "Talk of labor and economy," they said, "what is the use of these painful means of increasing the national wealth, when all that is wanted for this object is a decree?

Try to imagine a form of labor imposed by force, that is not a violation of liberty; a transmission of wealth imposed by force, that is not a violation of property. If you cannot succeed in reconciling this, you are bound to conclude that the law cannot organize labor and industry without organizing injustice.

man becomes rich in proportion to the remunerative nature of his labor;

Man can live and satisfy his wants only by ceaseless labor; by the ceaseless application of his faculties to natural resources. This process is the origin of property. But it is also true that a man may live and satisfy his wants by seizing and consuming the products of the labor of others. This process is the origin of plunder.

the price of labor, like the price of everything else, is governed by the relation of supply to demand.

When, then, does plunder stop? It stops when it becomes more painful and more dangerous than labor.

If, then, it is politic to protect national Labor against the competition of foreign Labor, it is not less so to protect human Labor against the rivalry of mechanical Labor.

When two workmen run after one master, wages fall; they rise when two masters run after one workman.

Now since man is naturally inclined to avoid pain -- and since labor is pain in itself -- it follows that men will resort to plunder whenever plunder is easier than work.

Here are, however, a few extracts from Louis Blanc's book on the organization of labor: "In our plan, society receives its momentum from power." Now consider this: The impulse behind this momentum is to be supplied by the plan of Louis Blanc; his plan is to be forced upon society; the society referred to is the human race. Thus the human race is to receive its momentum from Louis Blanc.

Governments assuming gigantic proportions end by absorbing half of all the revenues. The people are astonished that while marvelous labor-saving inventions, destined to infinitely multiply productions, are ever increasing in number, they are obliged to toil on as painfully as ever, and remain as poor as before.

God did not intend for us to be idle and unproductive. There is dignity in work.

Patience is not simply "teeth-clenched" endurance. It is an attitude of expectation. The farmer patiently watches his barren ground because he knows there will be results. He has patience in his labors because there will be products of his labor. So it is in the spiritual realm. God knows the final product of what is happening to us, and He would have us link patience to our faith. Ask God for the gift of patience—and then use it.

We are to till the soil and work the land—not worship it.

The only thing "free" about so-called free time is that it doesn't cost the boss anything. Free time is mostly devoted to getting ready for work, going to work, returning from work, and recovering from work. Free time is an euphemism for the peculiar way labor as a factor of production not only transports itself at its own expense to and from the workplace but assumes primary responsibility for its own maintenance and repair.

Looking for work sounds almost as bad as finding it.

Nul ne devrait jamais travailler. Prolétaires du monde entier, reposez-vous !

Ces experts, qui se proposent de penser à notre place, font rarement état publiquement de leurs conclusions sur le travail, malgré son écrasante importance dans nos vies. Entre eux, ils pinaillent sur des détails. Les syndicats et les managers sont d'accord pour dire que nous devrions vendre notre temps, nos vies en échange de la survie, même s'ils en marchandent le prix.

Tous les travailleurs de l'industrie et des bureaux sont des employés et subissent donc une forme de surveillance qui garantit leur servilité.

PRODUIRE, POURRIR, MOURIR.

But in the economy of grace, all of us are the worker who has only worked one hour, with