The Devil’s Workshop

I’m on sabbatical.

There are many people who would have you believe that “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” By spending one’s time indulging in relaxation and reflection, there is an inherent unproductiveness that renders these activities undesirable. However, I would like to propose a different angle of the Idle Mind theory. I believe that idleness of the mind (and body) can unlock a whole new world of political, social, and creative possibilities. Ultimately,idle time can help us fight the depression and ennui that seems to be eating away at the denizens of our hyper-connected world.

Before I continue, I will first provide three definitions of idleness.

1 : lacking worth or basis :

2 : not occupied or employed:

3 : shiftless, lazy ;having no evident lawful means of support :

For the most part, these definitions carry rather negative connotations, implying a sort of destitution and worthlessness. However, inherent in these definitions is an assumption that employment itself is a virtuous activity. Without getting into the history and politics of the workplace and wage labor as a institution (that is for another time, folks), let us just assume that these definitions of idleness take for granted its importance in regulating our happiness and well being. It allows us time to enrich ourselves with the company and knowledge of other idle minds in the form of literature and conversation. Idleness also provides an uninhibited space of expression and action, where the mind and body are free to wander in any given direction. The compulsion and bureaucracy present in the anti-idle world of employment inhibit this freedom, and the result is surprisingly more grim than you would imagine.

In 2011 The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that nearly 20% of Americans experienced an extended period of depression (Source: Bloomberg) .For recent college graduates and other jobless folk, unemployment and underemployment and debt are a constant worry. Economic and social pressures are the primary reason why we are compelled to work. The perceived “virtue” of work as an activity is not much more than clever marketing, designed to make a dull and undesirable activity that much more tolerable.

Gary Gutting wrote a fine opinion piece in the New York Times which focuses on the inflated value of work and the importance of idleness (aka. leisure). He beat me to the punch in invoking Aristotle, who says that “we work to have leisure, on which happiness depends.” Wage-Labor as a system is simply a means to an end, that end being enough accumulated wealth to bow out of the workforce and live the rest of your days as a free man.

Compulsory social and economic relations are the antithesis of the idle being, as your time and mental energy cease to be your own. Whether it be a 9-5 job, obligatory chit-chat with an acquaintance, or a monthly gathering. Involuntary association outside of an idle space is constantly assailed with presuppositions, motives, and other concerns. It is only in the idle space that passions can come to the surface, and interactions can be had simply for interactions sake.

So how do you escape from the trappings of wage-labor for a fulfilling life of idleness and pontification? Is it as simple as buying some rural land and living a sustainable life off of the grid? Is technology advanced enough to automate the agricultural processes needed to provide sustenance? Can mankind break it’s dependency on existing institutions and re-imagine the world as it should be?

On the surface, people are compliant, complacent, accepting the status quo for what it is. Yet at the same time, we have all asked ourselves these questions, and that’s what matters. This article isn’t about dismantling wage labor, or the side-effects of capitalism and consumerism. If you, the reader, take nothing else from this article, I only ask that you take a little time for yourself. Just to relax.