Alienated Labour

Abstract

There is a natural instinct in the unthinking man — who, tolerant of the burdens that life lays on him, and unwilling to lodge blame where he sees no remedy, seeks fulfilment in the world that is — to accept and endorse through his actions the institutions and practices into which he is born. This instinct, which I have attempted to translate into the self-conscious language of political dogma, is rooted in human nature, and in elaborating its foundations I have also been adumbrating a tentative philosophy of man. This philosophy distinguishes from the activities of animals the peculiar behaviour that we recognize as human; the behaviour of a creature who has not only instincts, drives and needs, but also values; who exists, not only in the present, but in the past and the future; who does not merely suffer reality, but who also makes himself part of it, and impresses on the world the imprint of will.