large/6138/signsofchange_1209_librivox_64kb_mp3/signsofchange_06_morris_64kb_35
large/6138/signsofchange_1209_librivox_64kb_mp3/signsofchange_06_morris_64kb
English
6138
However, civilization was not going to stop there; having turned the man into a machine, the next stage for commerce to aim at was to contrive machines which would widely dispense with human labour; nor was this aim altogether disappointed. HOWEVER CIVILIZATION WAS NOT GOING TO STOP THERE HAVING TURNED THE MAN INTO A MACHINE THE NEXT STATE FOR COMMERCE TO AIM AT WAS TO CONTRIVE MACHINES WHICH WOULD WIDELY DISPENSE WITH HUMAN LABOR NOR WAS THIS AIM ALTOGETHER DISAPPOINTED
ttaining to that end he must die or become a pauper. You can well imagine how this glorious invention of division of labour, this complete destruction of individuality in the workman, and his apparent hopeless enslavement to his profit-grinding master, stimulated the hopes of civilization; probably more hymns have been sung in praise of division of labour, more sermons preached about it, than have done homage to the precept, “do unto others as ye would they should do unto you.” To drop all irony, surely this was one of those stages of civilization at which one might well say that, if it was to stop there, it was a pity that it had ever got so far. I have had to study books and methods of work of the eighteenth century a good deal, French chiefly; and I must say that the impression made on me by that study is that the eighteenth century artisan must have been a terrible product of civilization, and quite in a condition to give rise to _hopes_—of the torch, the pike, and the guillotine.   SECTION SIX OF SIGNS OF CHANGE BY WILLIAM MORRIS THIS LIBRIVOX RECORDING IS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN RECORDING BY DEBORAH BRAEBEN THE HOPES OF CIVILIZATION PART TWO 
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