The dignity of labour or the dignity of work is the philosophical holding that all types of jobs are respected equally, and no occupation is considered superior and none of the jobs should be discriminated on any basis. This view holds that all types of work (jobs) are necessary in a society and it is absolutely wrong to consider any work good or bad: the work itself is a dignity.
Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle has been cited as "the first to espouse the 'dignity of work'".[1] In Past and Present (1843), he wrote:
Labour is Life: from the inmost heart of the Worker rises his god-given Force, the sacred celestial Life-essence breathed into him by Almighty God; from his inmost heart awakens him to all nobleness,—to all knowledge, 'self-knowledge' and much else, so soon as Work fitly begins.[2]
Incumbent U.S. President Joe Biden made restoring "the dignity of work" a central tenet of his 2020 campaign and administration.[3][4]
- ^ Rowland, Tim. "'Labor is Life' or 'Workers of the world, unite'? Future of capitalism lies in the middle". Herald-Mail Media. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
- ^ "The Project Gutenberg eBook of Collected Works, Volume XIII. Past and Present, by Thomas Carlyle". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
- ^ House, The White (5 September 2022). "Remarks by President Biden Celebrating Labor Day and the Dignity of American Workers". The White House. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
- ^ House, The White (8 February 2023). "Remarks of President Joe Biden – State of the Union Address as Prepared for Delivery". The White House. Retrieved 28 February 2023.