By+Ilana+E.+Strauss

People have speculated for centuries about a future without work， and today is no different， with academics， writers， and activists once again warning that technology is replacing human workers. Some imagine that the coming work-free world will be defined by inequality： A few wealthy people will own all the capital， and the masses will struggle in an impoverished wasteland.

A different， less paranoid1）， and not mutually exclusive prediction holds that the future will be a wasteland of a different sort， one characterized by purposelessness： Without jobs to give their lives meaning， people will simply become lazy and depressed. Indeed， todays unemployed dont seem to be having a great time.

But it doesnt necessarily follow2） from findings like these that a world without work would be filled with malaise3）. Such visions are based on the downsides of being unemployed in a society built on the concept of employment. In the absence of work， a society designed with other ends in mind could yield strikingly different circumstances for the future of labor and leisure. Today， the virtue of work may be a bit overblown. “Many jobs are boring， degrading， unhealthy， and a squandering4） of human potential，” says John Danaher， a lecturer at the National University of Ireland in Galway. “Global surveys find that the vast majority of people are unhappy at work.”

These days， because leisure time is relatively scarce for most workers， people use their free time to counterbalance the intellectual and emotional demands of their jobs. “When I come home from a hard days work， I often feel tired，” Danaher says， adding， “In a world in which I dont have to work， I might feel rather different”—perhaps different enough to throw himself into a hobby or a passion project with the intensity usually reserved for professional matters.

Having a job can provide a measure of financial stability， but in addition to stressing over how to cover lifes necessities， todays jobless are frequently made to feel like social outcasts. “People who avoid work are viewed as parasites5） and leeches6），” Danaher says. Perhaps as a result of this cultural attitude， for most people， self-esteem and identity are tied up intricately with their job， or lack of job.

Plus， in many modern-day societies， unemployment can also be downright boring. In many countries， towns and cities arent really built for lots of free time. The roots of this boredom may run even deeper. Peter Gray， a professor of psychology at Boston College， thinks that if work disappeared tomorrow， people might be at a loss for things to do， growing bored and depressed because they have forgotten how to play. “We teach children a distinction between play and work，” Gray explains. “Work is something that you dont want to do but you have to do.” He says this training， which starts in school， eventually “drills the play” out of many children， who grow up to be adults who are aimless when presented with free time.

“Sometimes people retire from their work， and they dont know what to do，” Gray says. “Theyve lost the ability to create their own activities.” Its a problem that never seems to plague young children. “There are no three-year-olds that are going to be lazy and depressed because they dont have a structured activity，” he says.

But need it be this way？ Work-free societies are more than just a thought experiment—theyve existed throughout human history. Consider hunter-gatherers7）， who have no bosses， paychecks， or eight-hour workdays. Ten thousand years ago， all humans were hunter-gatherers， and some still are. Daniel Everett， an anthropologist at Bentley University， in Massachusetts， studied a group of hunter-gathers in the Amazon called the Pirah? for years. According to Everett， while some might consider hunting and gathering work， hunter-gatherers dont. “They think of it as fun，” he says. “They dont have a concept of work the way we do.”

“Its a pretty laid-back8） life most of the time，” Everett says. He described a typical day for the Pirah?： A man might get up， spend a few hours canoeing and fishing， have a barbecue， go for a swim， bring fish back to his family， and play until the evening.

Does this leisurely life lead to the depression and purposelessness seen among so many of todays unemployed？ “Ive never seen anything remotely like depression there， except people who are physically ill，” Everett says. “They have a blast9）. They play all the time.” While many may consider work a staple of human life， work as it exists today is a relatively new invention in the course of thousands of years of human culture. “We think its bad to just sit around with nothing to do，” says Everett. “For the Pirah?， its quite a desirable state.”

Gray likens these aspects of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle to the carefree adventures of many children in developed countries， who at some point in life are expected to put away childish things. But that hasnt always been the case. According to Gary Crosss book A Social History of Leisure Since 1600， free time in the U.S. looked quite different before the 18th and 19th centuries. Farmers mixed work and play in their daily lives. There were no managers or overseers， so they would switch fluidly between working， taking breaks， joining in neighborhood games， playing pranks， and spending time with family and friends. Not to mention festivals and other gatherings： France， for instance， had 84 holidays a year in 1700.

This all changed， writes Cross， during the Industrial Revolution， which replaced farms with factories and farmers with employees. Factory owners created a more rigidly scheduled environment that clearly divided work from play. Meanwhile， clocks began to give life a quicker pace， and religious leaders， who traditionally endorsed most festivities， started associating leisure with sin and tried to replace rowdy festivals with sermons.

As workers started moving into cities， families no longer spent their days together on the farm. Instead， men worked in factories， women stayed home or worked in factories， and children went to school， stayed home， or worked in factories too. During the workday， families became physically separated， which affected the way people entertained themselves： Adults stopped playing “childish” games and sports， and the streets were mostly wiped clean of fun.

With workers old outlets for play having disappeared in a haze of factory smoke， many of them turned to new， more urban ones. Bars became a refuge where tired workers drank and watched live shows with singing and dancing. If free time means beer and TV to a lot of Americans， this might be why.

At times， developed societies have， for a privileged few， produced lifestyles that were nearly as play-filled as hunter-gatherers. Throughout history， aristocrats who earned their income simply by owning land spent only a tiny portion of their time minding financial exigencies. According to Randolph Trumbach， a professor of history at Baruch College， 18th-century English aristocrats spent their days visiting friends， eating elaborate meals， hosting salons and hunting.

Its unlikely that a world without work would be abundant enough to provide everyone with such lavish lifestyles. But Gray insists that injecting any amount of additional play into peoples lives would be a good thing， because， contrary to that 17th-century aristocrat， play is about more than pleasure. Through play， Gray says， children learn how to strategize， express their creativity， cooperate， overcome narcissism， and get along with other people. While most of todays adults may have forgotten how to play， Gray doesnt believe its an unrecoverable skill.

When people ponder the nature of a world without work， they often transpose present-day assumptions about labor and leisure onto a future where they might no longer apply； if automation does end up rendering a good portion of human labor unnecessary， such a society might exist on completely different terms than societies do today.

So what might a work-free world look like？ Gray has some ideas. School， for one thing， would be very different. “I think our system of schooling would completely fall by the wayside，” says Gray. “The primary purpose of the educational system is to teach people to work. I dont think anybody would want to put our kids through what we put our kids through now.” Instead， Gray suggests that teachers could build lessons around what students are most curious about.

Social life might look a lot different too. Since the Industrial Revolution， mothers， fathers， and children have spent most of their waking hours apart. In a work-free world， people of different ages might come together again. “We would become much less isolated from each other，” Gray imagines， perhaps a little optimistically.

In general， without work， Gray thinks people would be more likely to pursue their passions， get involved in the arts， and visit friends. Perhaps leisure would cease to be about unwinding after a period of hard work， and would instead become a more colorful， varied thing. “We wouldnt have to be as self-oriented as we think we have to be now，” he says. “I believe we would become more human.”

. New Oriental English

工作

没有工作的未来会怎么样？人们就此问题已经臆测了数世纪，现在还在继续，因为学者、作家、激进分子纷纷再次警醒人们，科学技术正在代替人类工作者。有些人猜测，那个即将到来、没有工作的未来的主要特点将是不平等：少数富人拥有所有资本，而大众将在贫瘠的废墟中挣扎。

有一个预测与眾不同，少些偏执且不相互矛盾。它认为未来将会变成另类的废墟，以漫无目的为特征：没有了赋予生活意义的工作，人们就会变得懒惰和消沉。今天的失业人群确实没什么好日子过。

不过，由诸如此类的发现未必就能得出结论说，没有工作的未来将充斥着不满。这样的展望是以失业的消极面为基础的，而这样的消极面只存在于建立在就业观念上的社会中。没有了工作，社会追求的目标就会有所不同，在这样的社会里，劳动和休闲将会别有一番境况。如今，我们或许过度渲染了工作的优点。“很多工作无聊、不体面、不健康，是对人类潜能的一种浪费，”戈尔韦市爱尔兰国立大学的讲师约翰·达纳赫说道，“环球调查发现，绝大部分人工作时都不开心。”

现如今，因为大多数劳动者都相对缺少休闲时间，所以人们就利用自己的闲暇时间去平衡在工作中的智力和情感付出。“结束一天的辛苦工作回到家时，我经常感到疲惫。”达纳赫说。他又补充道，“在一个不需要工作的世界里，我的感受或许会有所不同”——不同到足以使他投身一项业余爱好或一个有激情的项目，用通常只在处理工作时才会有的热情投入其中。……