Anti Work Quotes

“Those who commend work. - In the glorification of 'work', in the unwearied talk of the 'blessing of work', I see the same covert idea as in the praise of useful impersonal actions: that of fear of everything individual. Fundamentally, one now feels at the sight of work - one always means by work that hard industriousness from early till late - that such work is the best policeman, that it keeps everyone in bounds and can mightily hinder the development of reason, covetousness, desire for independence. For it uses up an extraordinary amount of nervous energy, which is thus denied to reflection, brooding, dreaming, worrying, loving, hating; it sets a small goal always in sight and guarantees easy and regular satisfactions. Thus a society in which there is continual hard work will have more security: and security is now worshipped as the supreme divinity. - And now! Horror! Precisely the 'worker' has become dangerous! The place is swarming with 'dangerous individuals'! And behind them the danger of dangers - the individual!”
― Friedrich Nietzsche, Daybreak: Thoughts on the Prejudices of Morality

“This position I've held ... it pays may way and it corrodes my soul.”
― Morrissey

“The goal of the future is full unemployment, so we can play. That’s why we have to destroy the present politico-economic system.”
― Arthur C. Clarke

“It is one of the greatest misapprehensions to speak of free, human, social labour, of albour without private property. "Labour" by its very nature is unfree, unhuman, unsocial activity, determined by private property and creating private property. Hence the abolition of private property will become a reality only when it is concieved as the abolition of "labour".”
― Karl Marx

“Most of any job consists of “pro forma” activity, or tasks designed to keep up the appearance of being productive. The actual job is a few hours a week where your input is actually needed. The rest is designed to make your supervisors, and her managers all the way up to the top, look good because all the workers appear engaged in “important” activity.
Remember that being successful entails looking successful. Creating “important” tasks makes people look successful, so they do it to their underlings. This is why you will work all night on projects that never see the light of day, or spend hours each week filling out forms that no one sees. Appearance is more important than reality in dying civilizations.”
― Brett Stevens

“There are some people who do not need fifteen seconds on the Evening News to validate their existence.”
― Peter Lamborn Wilson

“A slave, Marcus Cato said, should be working when he is not sleeping. It does not matter whether his work in itself is good in itself—for slaves, at least. This sentiment still survives, and it has piled up mountains of useless drudgery.

I believe that this instinct to perpetuate useless work is, at bottom, simply fear of the mob. The mob (the thought runs) are such low animals that they would be dangerous if they had leisure; it is safer to keep them too busy to think”
― George Orwell, Down and Out in Paris and London

“Non esiste il lavoro liberato.”
― Alfredo M. Bonanno, Armed Joy

“Isn't it weird how you can have an amazing weekend and still find yourself surrounded by the same wooden desks and wooden people come Monday morning?”
― Crystal Cestari, The Best Kind of Magic

“To sum up. A plongeur is a slave, and a wasted slave, doing stupid and largely unnecessary work. He is kept at work, ultimately, because of a vague feeling that he would be dangerous if he had leisure.”
― George Orwell, Down and Out in Paris and London

“Che follia l’amore per il lavoro!
Che grande abilità scenica quella del capitale che ha saputo fare amare lo sfruttamento agli sfruttati, la corda agli impiccati e la catena agli schiavi.”
― Alfredo M. Bonanno, Armed Joy