5/13/2023 0 Comments George orwell down and out![]() ![]() And as a social type a beggar compares well with scores of others. It is a trade like any other quite useless, of course-but, then, many reputable trades are quite useless. A beggar works by standing out of doors in all weathers and getting varicose veins, chronic bronchitis, etc. An accountant works by adding up figures. Beggars do not work, it is said but, then, what is WORK? A navvy works by swinging a pick. Yet if one looks closely one sees that there is no ESSENTIAL difference between a beggar's livelihood and that of numberless respectable people. He is a mere social excrescence, tolerated because we live in a humane age, but essentially despicable. ![]() It is taken for granted that a beggar does not 'earn' his living, as a bricklayer or a literary critic 'earns' his. Working men 'work', beggars do not 'work' they are parasites, worthless in their very nature. ![]() They are a race apart-outcasts, like criminals and prostitutes. ![]() People seem to feel that there is some essential difference between beggars and ordinary 'working' men. “It is worth saying something about the social position of beggars, for when one has consorted with them, and found that they are ordinary human beings, one cannot help being struck by the curious attitude that society takes towards them. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |