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And all mechanical progressis and must be in this direction.
As I have pointed
out,this is traceable to two main causes. Take for instance the transition from
horses to motor vehicles. In fact, it is their special functionto do so.
No
human being ever wants to do anythingin a more cumbrous way than is
necessary.
But historic necessity, orrather the belief in it, has failed to
survive Hitler. The oftenerone surrenders to it the tighter its grip
becomes.
Leisure tobecome more like Mr Beevers, presumably. And here you
observe the huge contradiction whichis usually present in the idea of
progress.
But that attitude is becoming difficult and even unfashionable. Or
thanthe labourer or peasant of any exclusively agricultural community now or
inthe past. It is theauthentic voice of a large section of the modem world. The
tools I use demand the minimum of skill. Hence the absurdity of thatpicture of
Utopians saving their souls with fretwork.
A world ofrabbits ruled by stoats
would be nearer the mark. Every aspirin-eaterin the outer suburbs would echo it
fervently. But that attitude is becoming difficult and even unfashionable.
Why
not let the machine do the work and the men go anddo something else.
But
whateverthey want to do, they will find that another machine has set them free
fromthat.
The tools I use demand the minimum of skill. The machine-civilization
is to continue, but its products are to be shared out equally. You can have
machines doing all the work or human beings doing allthe work, but you cant
have both.
And here you observe the huge contradiction whichis usually present
in the idea of progress. But whateverthey want to do, they will find that
another machine has set them free fromthat. It is far worse than useless to
write Fascism off asmass sadism, or some easy phrase of that kind. And all
mechanical progressis and must be in this direction.
But it may be said, why
not retain the machine and retain creativework?
Thereis no reason to think that
it will destroy itself or stop functioning ofits own accord. It is theauthentic
voice of a large section of the modem world. The choice is not, as yet, between
a human and an inhuman world. Cease to use your hands, and youhave lopped off a
huge chunk of your conscious-ness. Half the stuffing is knocked out of them
byone neat blow. You are at the same momentfuriously pressing forward and
desperately holding back.
Clearly I donot, in a sense, want to return to a
simpler, harder, probablyagricultural way of life. And now consider againthose
half-dozen men who were digging the trench for the water-pipe.
But meanwhilethe
machine is here, and its corrupting effects are almost irresistible.
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