Would a Work―free World Be So Bad？ 如果世界上没有了工作.docVIP

Would a Work―free World Be So Bad？ 如果世界上没有了工作 　　People have speculated for centuries about a future without work， and today is no different， with academics， writers， and activists once again warning that technology is replacing human workers. Some imagine that the coming work-free world will be defined by inequality： A few wealthy people will own all the capital， and the masses will struggle in an impoverished wasteland. 　　A different， less paranoid1）， and not mutually exclusive prediction holds that the future will be a wasteland of a different sort， one characterized by purposelessness： Without jobs to give their lives meaning， people will simply become lazy and depressed. Indeed， today’s unemployed don’t seem to be having a great time. 　　But it doesn’t necessarily follow2） from findings like these that a world without work would be filled with malaise3）. Such visions are based on the downsides of being unemployed in a society built on the concept of employment. In the absence of work， a society designed with other ends in mind could yield strikingly different circumstances for the future of labor and leisure. Today， the virtue of work may be a bit overblown. “Many jobs are boring， degrading， unhealthy， and a squandering4） of human potential，” says John Danaher， a lecturer at the National University of Ireland in Galway. “Global surveys find that the vast majority of people are unhappy at work.” 　　These days， because leisure time is relatively scarce for most workers， people use their free time to counterbalance the intellectual and emotional demands of their jobs. “When I come home from a hard day’s work， I often feel tired，” Danaher says， adding， “In a world in which I don’t have to work， I might feel rather different”―perhaps different enough to throw himself into a hobby or a passion project with the intensity usually reserved for professional matters. 　　Having a job can provide a measure of financial stability， but in addition to stressing over how to co