Let Workers not just work—
But Decide how they shall work.²
When the Workers set about it practically
On a mass scale—they will Self-Organize a
Hundred times better than any theoretician.³
Beautiful hands are those that do
Work that is Honest, Brave & True—
Moment by Moment, the Long Day through.⁴
Love cannot flourish in a society based upon Money
And meaningless work: it requires complete Economic
Freedom, Leisure time and the opportunity to Engage in
Intensely absorbing, emotionally satisfying activities:⁵
Labor must be but a means to Widen, Enrich,
And Promote the existence of the Laborer.⁶
Yesterday we worked for others—
Today we Work for Ourselves.⁷
We put the thought of all we Love—
Into all we make.⁸
As more humans Awaken, the word
Work will to disappear from our vocabulary.⁹
We who haven’t been Employed—
Have therefore become
Accomplished in the Arts.¹⁰
¹ Thomas Dekker, O Sweet Content
² Toni Morrison, Beloved
³ V.I. Lenin tr. Bernard Isaacs, The April Theses
⁴ Ellen P. Allerton, Beautiful Things
⁵ Valerie Solanas, SCUM Manifesto
⁶ Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto
⁷ Fidel Castro, May Day Celebration 1961
⁸ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
⁹ Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now
¹⁰ Confucius tr. Edward Slingerland, Analects 9.7