In Praise of Idleness and Other Essays

In Praise of Idleness and Other Essays is a collection of essays by the philosopher Bertrand Russell, published by Routledge in 1935. It brings together writings on sociology, philosophy and economics, and nearly half of them had already appeared in periodicals such as Harper's Magazine, The Political Quarterly and The New Statesman and Nation.

The title essay argues that belief in the virtue of labour causes great harm in the modern world, and that the path to happiness and prosperity lies in reducing working hours. Russell supports this thesis with two main arguments: that the value placed on work is a moral prejudice of the privileged classes, who use it to keep the poor disciplined; and that industrial production is already sufficient to meet everyone's needs with minimal effort, as wartime rationalisation of production had shown. He concludes that four hours of work a day would be enough for a comfortable life, and that leisure devoted to culture in all its forms would enrich civilisation.

The rest of the book takes up related themes: pacifism, a critique of politics, the denunciation of landowners who live off others' labour and of the cult of efficiency, and the isolation of intellectuals from the lives of working people. Russell rejects both communism and fascism, which he sees as variants of the same excess of organisation and vigorous action, and instead defends calm consideration and freedom of mind against dogmatism.