“For particulars, as everyone knows, make for virtue and happiness; generalities are intellectually necessary evils. Not philosophers but fretsawyers and stamp collectors compose the backbone of society.”(4)
Society is a difficult and complex structure to understand. It has many branches that keep extending and more levels of organization are added. Yet, what truly is the core or the trunk of that ever growing tree which we call society? Most people would say that it is the important humans or the ones known all over the globe such as the president of the United States because he can make a change. In the book Brave New World, the author Aldous Huxley explains through this quote that it is the workers at the bottom who are "the backbone of society", or the most important ones because they do the small jobs that eventually amount to greater works when all are put together. In example, if all the men who work in a construction site for a new building were to stop showing up to work, the men at the top who are in charge of them would be nothing. A society can not function with all leaders. Every particular who has a small roll in society, helps keep it stable therefore maintaining everyone in it happy. The generalities that if you want to be a good citizen in society you must strive to be on the top are, as he calls them, “necessary evils” because a few spots are needed to be filled, but this blinds individuals into thinking that that's the only place they can serve for the good of society and they underestimate the smaller rolls and the common man is never thanked.
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Confused by your blog, I understood it to be about the backbone of society. I believe you're insinuating that high authoritative figures (ex. the president of the united states) are the backbone in our society rather than the lower hard-working class. That is an odd statement that I have never hear before, and, to be honest, I strongly disagree with you. By saying high rank leaders are the backbone of society, you are implying that the lower hard-working class is not as important to an efficient society; which, of course, is not at all true. Without the lower hard-working class in our society, the leaders are nothing, the world is nothing, and society will not function properly. So, reconsider your thoughts. Ask yourself, is our society any different from that of the society portrayed in The Brave New World.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with this. My dad sometimes has to do tedious construction work at his job, and all his work goes unappreciated. If my dad and the other workers weren't there to do all the work that no one else wants to do, the higher-ups wouldn't amount to anything. Think about it. How could the people on top rule over people if there are no people to rule over? Society has to have workers. You said not everyone can be a leader, and that's the honest truth. The only difference between our society and the society in Brave New world is the simple fact that the latter has a more extreme version of it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this. The workers are the backbone of society because without them there wouldn't be a working society. Like you said, not everyone can be a leader. I see it wrong that the ones who work harder are not the ones who are appreciated but rather the leaders' work is what is appreciated. It's just not fair that hard work like that isn't appreciated, but then again, life isn't fair.
ReplyDeleteOkay I understand what you are saying. Workers are a very important part of our community. Without workers nothing will get done but without leaders the workers won't get anything done. Some people are born leaders and others workers. But in order to be a leader you have to start off as workers. So everything goes back to working. If you work hard in school, you'll go to college. If you do great in college, you will make something of your life and you are a potential leader. But you are right, the leaders won't be anything if the workers don't work. But I'm going to use your example, say that the common workers are ready to work but if the boss doesn't say what to build and where, then they won't know what to do.
ReplyDeleteSome people are just made to be leaders and others workers. And leaders are leaders for a reason. They worked their butts off all through school. But I don't think the backbone of our society are the workers. I think that the backbone is working. Working is what gets you places.
Does everyone work hard in this society? Do some work harder than others?
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