Date: Fri, 17 May 1996 08:11:09 -0400
Subject: Re: Engels, foragers and "surplus" : "Lazy" is a good word.


    I find it utterly bizarre that Adam would be speculating on "producing 
more food" in a gatherer culture--speculating, that is, that if such a
culture 
does NOT produce more food, there must be some "reason" for not doing 
so. What about the amazingly simple reason that many (perhaps most) 
such cultures hand no *need* for more food; when the belly is full, it's
full, 
and collecting and eating more would be at the very least "peculiar" even,
say, 
for homo erectus or homo habilis, and certainly for homo sapiens.

     So it one wishes to discuss "surplus" in such cultures it must be in 
terms of "more comfortable" homes (whatever that might mean),  flashier 
clothing (huh?), or prettier bodily adornments: or perhaps more sophisticated

equipment for purposes of game playing or ritual. Et Cetera.

     And if one finds that a given example of such a culture, the "average" 
labor week is around 15 or 20 hours, and finds also that the sort of 
technology they possess *would* allow for such flashier clothing etc, then 
it seems obvious to me that they are CHOOSING to expend their "surplus" 
in the form of leisure time.

     And if the word "lazy" was good enough for Paul Lafargue, it's 
good enough for me without pulling in class society, which is only 
around 10,000 years (at most: more likely is around 5000) years old, 
while our species has been here around 100,000 years, and species 
very close to us much longer. If workers in a class society want to 
"cheat" on time or reduce working hours (as they should whether they 
do or not in a given case), why should not humans in general
in an emancipated world choose to be "lazy" (Whitman speaks of 
loafing and inviting his soul). The great thing, perhaps, about being 
human is that even under the horrors of capitalism billions of us can 
find fun things to do in whatever leisure time we steal, earn, beg, borrow, 
what have you.
       Jan C


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