The Historical Approach to Work

For the purpose of this work it appears necessary to have a look at the importance and significance that work and employment have within today’s society since this may have changed significantly in the course of time.

Man’s work and his daily fight for survival, was seen for many centuries a punishment for disobeying God’s rules. We all remember the story about Adam, Eve and the apple.

Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground. (Genesis 3:17)

Five hundred years ago Martin Luther [1] expressed the biblical idea that work is the meaning of life by stating that „man is born to trouble, as the bird to fly“ (Cole, 1824, p. 534), and not long after him it was John Locke [2] who clearly contradicted Luther by saying „Labour for Labour sake is against Nature” (Locke, 1719, p. 404).

The apostle Paul is often quoted by those opposing the basic income idea:

If a man does not choose to work, neither shall he eat. (2 Thessalonians 3:10)

Götz Werner [3], one of the most well-known advocates of BI in Germany, clearly realised that this biblical principle cannot be applied to today’s society anymore (Werner, 2007, p. 47). Paul’s principle dates back to a time, where people generally were supporting themselves and had not farmed his field had nothing to eat. Around the year 1900 far more than 50% of all Europeans worked in agriculture. Today in the EU this is less than 7% (Werner, 2007, p. 47) and man is more than ever dependant on external supplies.

[1] Martin Luther (10/11/1483-18/02/1546) was a German professor of theology and priest. Being a seminal figure in the Protestant Reformation he became known by his translation of the Bible into the vernacular (instead of Latin).