The Dignity of Work

At one time I lived close to the Field Museum of Chicago; I had a membership and spent a good deal of time there. One evening, about ten minutes before closing, I noticed that workers had begun preparing the first floor for an evening event. I had a panoramic view from where I stood at the second floor balcony, and what I saw has stuck with me ever since. What I saw was a lone man setting up tables and chairs – simple work, the kind that a teenager could do. But what I watched this man do was every bit as beautiful as dance. He moved with integrity, with precision, and with intent. He carefully spaced the tables in a precise geometry, he moved every chair with efficiency. This was more than just work; it was art. This man knew that he was doing his job well, and, perhaps most importantly, he enjoyed doing it well. I was transfixed by it all, and I stood there until the guards asked me to leave. And even then, I moved very slowly until I lost sight of him. There is real beauty in doing a job well, even a simple job. It is our great loss that this form of beauty is never mentioned in public these days – double-sad, because at one time, such beauty was acknowledged. The Virtue of Productivity It is productivity that improves life upon Earth. What I call “the productive class” are the people who build and repair our cars, our houses, and our computers; the people who provide us with air conditioning, electricity, plumbing, and food; the people who make, clean and repair our clothing; the people who treat our sicknesses and wounds. If you can drive around town and point out places where you repaired things, or delivered things, or fed people, or made human life better in any of a thousand ways, you are a producer. And if you are a producer, there is an inherent dignity in what you do. You are actively making the world better. You are directly creating benefit for yourself and for other human beings. What you do every day is morally virtuous and worthy of respect. And you should never let anyone tell you otherwise. And, it’s worth pointing out: Money is not a measure of your worth. Money is certainly useful, and getting it should matter to you, but merely having money is no measure of your dignity. Actively improving the world, however, that conveys dignity. What, Really, Is Work? It’s important to look at things directly; to clarify what they really are, not just what people say about them. This is what I see when I focus on work itself: Productive work is the insertion of creativity into the world. It is the birthing of benefit into the world. It is, in a word, beautiful, and people who do it should be deeply satisfied with what they do. Compared to productive work, status is ornamental puffery: a shiny coat with the word “Important” emblazoned upon it, worn by a sad little man. If you are a member of the productive class, please work at re-arranging your assumptions and stop revering status. Instead, start respecting things that actually improve human life. Creating things, improving things, or making it possible for other people to create… these are noble, beautiful, and important. Please start giving yourself credit for them. ** Paul Rosenberg freemansperspective.com  

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