Explore the latest books of this year!
Bookbot

Paul Lafargue

    January 15, 1842 – November 26, 1911

    A French revolutionary Marxist socialist and son-in-law of Karl Marx, Lafargue was born in Cuba to French and Creole parents. His seminal work, "The Right to Be Lazy," argues not only for the right to work but also for the right to idleness. In it, he provocatively suggested that enslaved Africans lived under better circumstances than European laborers, challenging prevailing notions of labor and progress. His writings offer a radical critique of the morality of work.

    Paul Lafargue
    The Right to Be Lazy, and Other Studies
    Das Recht auf Faulheit (Widerlegung des "Rechts auf Arbeit" von 1848): Ein verderbliches Dogma + Der Segen der Arbeit + Was aus der Überproduktion fol
    The Right To Be Lazy
    The Evolution of Property from Savagery to Civilization
    Social and Philosophical Studies
    The Right to Be Lazy
    • The Right to Be Lazy

      • 200 pages
      • 7 hours of reading
      3.5(84)Add rating

      Now in a new translation, a classic nineteenth-century defense for the cause of idleness by a revolutionary writer and activist (and Karl Marx's son-in law) that reshaped European ideas of labor and production. Exuberant, provocative, and as controversial as when it first appeared in 1880, Paul Lafargue’s The Right to Be Lazy is a call for the workers of the world to unite—and stop working so much! Lafargue, Karl Marx’s son-in-law (about whom Marx once said, “If he is a Marxist, then I am clearly not”) wrote his pamphlet on the virtues of laziness while in prison for giving a socialist speech. At once a timely argument for a three-hour workday and a classical defense of leisure, The Right to Be Lazy shifted the course of European thought, going through seventeen editions in Russia during the Revolution of 1905 and helping shape John Maynard Keynes’s ideas about overproduction. Published here with a selection of Lafargue’s other writings—including an essay on Victor Hugo and a memoir of Marx—The Right to Be Lazy reminds us that the urge to work is not always beneficial, let alone necessary. It can also be a “strange madness” consuming human lives.

      The Right to Be Lazy
    • This book presents a thorough examination of the concept of property and its transformation throughout history, tracing its evolution from primitive societies to modern civilization. Originally published in 1894, it offers insights into the social, economic, and legal implications of property ownership, reflecting on how these changes have shaped human interactions and societal structures over time. The reprint maintains the integrity of the original text, providing readers with a historical perspective on property rights and their significance.

      The Evolution of Property from Savagery to Civilization
    • The Right To Be Lazy

      Easy to Read Layout

      • 76 pages
      • 3 hours of reading

      Exploring the impact of capitalism, this work argues that labor leads to intellectual decline and physical deformities. It delves into the societal implications of work within a capitalist framework, challenging the notion that labor is inherently valuable. Through critical analysis, it exposes the detrimental effects of a profit-driven economy on both individuals and society as a whole. This thought-provoking perspective encourages readers to reconsider the relationship between work, health, and intellectual development.

      The Right To Be Lazy
    • The book critiques the ideological foundations of labor in Lafargue's time, particularly targeting the capitalist and bourgeois moral values that glorify work. He highlights the "work addiction" plaguing the labor movement, arguing that this obsession leads to the exhaustion of individuals and their descendants. Rather than advocating for a right to idleness, Lafargue calls for the abolition of capitalist production methods. He contrasts bourgeois philosophers, who are influenced by their employers, with ancient Greek philosophy, which held a disdain for labor. Paul Lafargue, a French socialist and physician, authored this critical examination.

      Das Recht auf Faulheit (Widerlegung des "Rechts auf Arbeit" von 1848): Ein verderbliches Dogma + Der Segen der Arbeit + Was aus der Überproduktion fol
    • "The Right to be Lazy" by Paul Lafargue critiques various ideologies surrounding labor, including liberal, conservative, Christian, and socialist views. The essay advocates for the value of leisure and challenges the societal norms that prioritize relentless work over personal well-being.

      The Right to Be Lazy, and Other Studies
    • In diesem Pamphlet stellt Paul Lafargue, einer der bedeutendsten Denker des Sozialismus in Frankreich, die Macht des Kapitals als religiöses System dar und regte damit an, die Religion im Rahmen der Geschichte der Entfremdungsformen umgekehrt als Vorläufer des Kapitals zu verstehen. Lafargue, der mit seinem Buch Recht auf Faulheit auch in Deutschland bekannt wurde, schlägt in seiner Kapitalismuskritik eine andere Richtung als sein Schwiegervater Karl Marx ein und geht in gewisser Weise über ihn hinaus. So sieht er das Religiöse nicht in der Ideologie, sondern im materiellen Aufbau des Kapitals. Jean-Pierre Baudet knüpft in seinem Nachwort an Lafargues Grundgedanken an und überführt sie in eine aktuelle Kapitalismuskritik.

      Die Religion des Kapitals
    • Das Recht auf Faulheit (Großdruck)

      Widerlegung des »Rechts auf Arbeit«

      • 56 pages
      • 2 hours of reading

      In dieser provokanten Schrift argumentiert Paul Lafargue gegen das gesellschaftliche Ideal des Arbeitens und plädiert stattdessen für das „Recht auf Faulheit“. Er kritisiert die Vorstellung, dass Arbeit einen hohen moralischen Wert hat, und beleuchtet die negativen Auswirkungen der übermäßigen Arbeitsmoral auf das Individuum und die Gesellschaft. Lafargue fordert eine Neubewertung der Lebensweise, in der Freizeit und Muße als essenzielle Bestandteile des menschlichen Glücks anerkannt werden. Seine Thesen sind eine scharfe Widerlegung des „Rechts auf Arbeit“ und regen zum Nachdenken über den Sinn von Arbeit an.

      Das Recht auf Faulheit (Großdruck)