PERSONAL NOTE: Bertrand Russell: Meaningful Work and Idleness

Bertrand Russell's theory on the economic and political history of industrial societies transcends the early 20th century to reveal a common problem encountered in our world we live in today.  In order to consciously operate in a modern secular society, meaning ought to be placed through our work. Without meaning, we, then, take sloth in our leisure, and are unproductive in giving alms back to our native community-- using "vapid and passive" means of self-indulgent behavior. The vitality of a industrialized society is through the labor from the working class. Rather than material modes of leisure, we must take time to spiritually commit to ourselves, in placing meaning in our lives & work-- in time, it will reflect for the people around us. Bertrand Russell illustrates:

"Above all, there will be happiness and joy of life, instead of frayed nerves, weariness, and dyspepsia. the work exacted will be enough to make leisure delightful, but not enough to produce exhaustion. since men will not be tired in their spare time, they will not demand only such amusements as are passive and vapid. at least one percent will probably devote the time not spent in professional work to pursuits of some public importance, and, since they will not depend upon these pursuits for their livelihood, their originality will be unhampered, and there will be no need to conform to the standards set by elder pundits. "