The next fifty years; The Urgent and the Important

Given this goal and this accountability and this measure we shall proceed full speed ahead on those courses of action which promised to advance the quality of living that which is irrelevant to this purpose will be subordinated or cast aside. We shall have no time in these 50 years for irrelevancy. Thank you very much. The was. I. You've been listening to the surgeon general of the United States William Stewart addressing himself to the future health of our nation. Addressing himself to the mental health of the nation is Dr. sebastián the Graziano doctor to Graziano is not there as you might think. Psychiatry just. But instead a student of leisure time and its effect on the human personality. In his book of time work and leisure Dr. De Graziano examines the history and philosophies of leisure and his remarks that follow

focus on this unusual question does man really know what to do with his leisure time. Here from Rutgers University is Dr. sebastián got sia. I must say I've been in you by many of the prognostications. That have. Appeared the day and I'm sure you have been exposed to quite a few of them yourself. And its content. As you know many forecasters. I hope you're amused too. Many forecasts to see automation much into business government and industry. Population mounting left early. And the graphic peak at the GM peak at 2020 disappearing in a roseate cloud. In

2020 reaches one. Projection. Our standard of living will be three to seven times higher than that of 1965. And in tune with this increase will be the increase in leisure time. The question is. Will we be able to stand it. I'd like to ask you to close your eyes momentarily. Oh yes. Oh your mind. Quite early. And forget about the things the GNP the standard of living civilian employment. A shorter workweek early retirement universal a college education. And I think I ask you to think of who in the male population aged

14 to 17 is working at a job or business government or private and how much time they are working. And to think of the future to who will be working. And how much time they will be waking. Of this population. We've already cut off. One end the so-called O. That is 60 to 70 by early retirement. We cut off the other and the young 14 22 and 23 by Universal. College education or military service and we're working hard on the middle. By cutting down working hours shorter week. We've all heard so much about. One thing and the middle. I resisting sturdily

struggling against. The middle so far has resisted most successfully. The average American male worker works 46 47 hours a week. They work we get six days on the average. He works four hours on Saturday. When I was working on the 20th century study of leisure I was puzzled by this and tried to figure out possible explanations why did everyone seem to love leisure so wholeheartedly. And yet no one seemed really to want to know and took any of it and no one knew what one would do with it if one had it. And what do you call free time that is not wanted. But you are

forced to take by a labor management government contract. You can call it free time because you're being constrained to take it. Well what is it. When you're being taken off the job or better your job is not there. This sounds like unemployment but you say no it doesn't. Unemployment connotes hunger and no pay in breadlines. These men are getting paid even if they work little or not at all well paid for what will they be paid for the few hours they put in on the job or paid for not working. Obviously the latter because they are prevented from working prevent it from working more by being paid.

What is it when you're paid and don't work. This sounds like a deal. I believe the answer to the puzzle may lie here. It makes a good study in the unconscious working side. We want to avoid these two phenomena unemployment and Bill at all costs. And if we can't avoid these two phenomena at least let's avoid these two words. They are extremely dangerous. But we seem to be faced with an extremely difficult problem that disbanding the labor force. Whatever the reason for it we no longer seem to need the quantity and quality of labor that we once called the labor force. How many of there is lay the

trouble at the door of automated machinery. Apparently automation many here cannot read job as wisely as widely and as widely as the industrial economy. Has hitherto been able to do because it requires demand an above average intelligence. If this be true and much of the rest of this paper is based on that possibility unemployment may be in the offing but will it necessarily instead of calling it on time and. Why not call it free time. Workers may not be asking for more free time. But let us cut down their work here without cutting down their pay. Let us call this time off the job leisure and let you know unemployment is good. Ok so my colleague here what's wrong with that.

What is wrong is that we are sapping an important part of our idea of the ideal of work without offering a possibility to the Specter is that of it and economic system constraining work here to work. Not if the economic system is producing unemployment that must justify its free time. It must get produce to substitute for the work ethic it is used to simply to recommend that men get the same satisfaction from leisure that they get from work. A hard worker you used to be an object of a team work used to be and still is good for you. A remedy for pain loneliness. The death of a dear one. A disappointment in love. Doubts about the purpose of life. Dead a

methodical work both a great and powerful and prosperous nation can lead here do the thing. The difficulty is even greater than most people think. It involves complexity and the possibility of undemocratic compulsion. It is not a simple task like sewage disposal or air pollution. Both of which problems are problems. I mean able to rationally plan and organize attack and inefficiency in the execution time cannot be easily handled this way. The word free in free time refers to uncommitted and obligated kind. If there is any constraint at all the freedom vanishes the result will be disaffection disaffection of a large part of the population. And I should begin this part

of my talk with disaffection among youth. Universal college education the young are removed from the labor force for four or five years. When accompanied by a military draft. Project prospects for those not making the grade of college becomes for many not a choice. But an extension of compulsory education. This is a hidden unemployment too and not all of the young are taken in by it. Possibly for this reason this affection with the work ethic is appearing most dramatically today. Among youth. There is a vocal minority among them whose antipathy to work. Is more ideological than the bum's philosophic hobos used to be their doctrines include and

antipathy to technology and science as well and an antipathy to what is commonly referred to as the establishment. Namely all of those in positions of influence in the political military. Industrial and scientific word to talk to these young persons of a higher standard of living. Mounting and the American Way of Life larger income and more free time and the cornucopia of commodities. Nothing but it's going. They no longer worship God what they would want in exchange is not clear but what they reject the world prophesied by all these projections we have been studying. This is fiction you know will not remain restricted to you deprived of a sense of purpose. But the old God God is gone and without new ones

others too will fall into a head and mystic attitude toward life. When all they can justify to get what they can out of pleasure. Historically this is the Times a company at times but typically followed by some form of religious revival. Until then or perhaps even then there is reason to fear as some do that more free time force free time but bring on the reckless Tick-Tock of boredom. I don't know. Immorality and increase in personal lives. As more and more free time is forced on adults disaffection with bread. If the cost cause is identified as automation and the preference and its preference for higher intelligence and automated automated jobs may well increase. In the category the trades and services but they

will carry the stigma of stupidity. Men would prefer not to work rather than to accept them. Those who do accept will increasingly come to be a politically inferior class. Composed of women immigrants imported alien and humanoid. There may then be three classes in the future one an elite that works on top policy administrative or manufacturing tasks with automated accoutrement. Or when it works in the arts and communications writing film dining and so forth to be a free time citizenry accepting it goes David. But this isn't chanted and even rebellious and free. There will be those of inferior politicos who will

perform the unpopular trade in services. There are other alternatives of course but it's going to reveal that a whole future world is possible and which today it's a difficult projection and has little bearing. When we look at the capital area of the United States to make a lot of it the urbanized region extending from Boston down here to Washington eventually it may go over to Chicago. The rest of the country including climactic resorts like Florida and California can be regarded as the provinces. From these areas for decades to come. There will appear in the cities of the capital relatively untouched by the delusion by disillusion of source the flow provincial. Fortunately they provide a

breathing spell of stability for the rest of the country. A time in which solutions to the problem of hidden unemployment. Force feed time and this affection will have to be found. There should be time for thinking up a solution but a problem of such magnitude requires a creative solution. Time can bring more recreation and an appetite for spectacles. But genius or creative in this free time leads to recreation. It is leisure that bears directly on creation. Most Americans when they use the word leisure have free time in mind. True leader however is different. If the state of being of being creative every day necessity the thing from free time requires.

Freedom from time and work not hourly daily or monthly freedom. But freedom from the necessity to work preferably over a lifetime. By contrast the present American Free time is one half of the pendulum job time free time. First you work then you rest and recreate yourself. You had no particular activity men in a leisure condition may do anything much of what they may do an outsider may consider considered suspiciously like work. This modern usage to refer to such activity as work of toil and creative work are not to be called work. Not having anything to do with something. Often they may turn to religious ritual music wining and dining friends but most notably to the play of ideas in theory and afraid to the theoretical life. But the lack in America of a

strong tradition of leisure is not surprising that we might guess what it can lead to do for us. The benefits of leisure. Simply put the benefits of cultivating the free mind. Of persons have been brought up with a liberal education and have no need to work at anything except what they choose. They enjoy your freedom to lay the condition for the greatest objectivity. For example in science the greatest beauty for the for example in art and the greatest creativeness for example in politics. The founding fathers of this country at leisure leaders said Hobbs is a mother. Such are its benefits and we need them so early can we increasingly here. This is difficult. It is not contained in this free time by time off work and space for recreation. To increase free time is usually

enough to send a man any man home early from work for as recreation is usually enough to give him some space to play in. But how to provide leisure all steps that can be taken by the government through legislation and institutions by business organizations and churches. Step have a limited value. They have a limited value even for free time but much much less value for leisure. There are some traces of the leisure ideal in the recent times by government and universities to provide in centers an institute a creative setting especially for scientists. These efforts and others can help. Only in as much as they through teaching and example diffuse and appreciative climate much more than this cannot be directly done.

For you know there are two important limits to face. First not everyone has the temperament for leisure. For most people leisure lacks sufficient guidance and sense of purpose. The leisure life is to hide those you have the toughness or psychological security for it. Not many. Second you will have nothing to do with work. Accept that freely chosen which by definition should not be called work. It involves having to put in modern terms this means that whoever is to lead a life of leisure should have some form of economic independence. The objectives in increasing are creating more leisure should be the first to allow the greatest number of those who have the temperament for it to develop to their fullest extent. Second to allow them to secure the means of existence without work and then create an atmosphere more kindly than halftone

in which they may lead a kind of life. A number of the developments we have already discussed do affect these objectives. For example a liberal education is almost a scenic one for the growth of the leisure temperament. Universal education today may soon see to it that almost all will have a college education. On the negative side however the education has not been freely chosen military service or the alternative education moreover has and will continue to decline in quality because of the great numbers of students in compulsory attendance. And because of the nursery school climate of the college as a place to put grown up children while the adults go to work. Also for free time will not have to expand much to reach a

separation of income and work. Recent proposals for guaranteed annual wage or salary into made the separation already. Should this happen the wherewithal for a life of leisure will be there for all who think they have the temperament. Many will try. Many will drop out. Among the survivors the right few will be found. The last thing I mentioned last prerequisite and atmosphere friendly to leave here may be brought about by the increase in free time whether forced or not. If the worker consumer model which we have today breaks down if more free time is not only forced upon then but in time also sought and taken the company change in attitude may well be receptive to receptive to true leisure.

A more relaxed pace to life may bring about a more favorable view of the whole ideal as well as more reflection more refinements and less ambitious political military and economic projects play in man's free time and leisure in turn the ideal In practice of leisure create standards for the enjoyment of free time. Indeed without leisure the outlook for the resolution of the problem the hidden unemployment and forced free time seemed desperate had an ism this integration of social and political ties. Crises of law and order. A cynical and callous foreign policy. There is promise and then in the future leisure for the few free time for the many.

That is what appears to becoming a not unpleasant spoilt only by the introduction and kind of the adjective forced. I've spoken to about three time my time free and forced. And something about this section and something about Lee here. I should like to close now with a few words on the United States in the world all over the globe when it encounters the modern attitude today to free time. A world wide change in vocabulary has occurred. The word major is in the air. Governments now have to promise it or write it into their constitution. United States is partly responsible for fostering this development especially of late. To its serving as the model for many of the other other world countries.

The usual Invid invidious statistical comparisons are made as misleading as ever to show how the United States is hard to dance in the shorter workweek which then is automatically equated with leisure. Now even though so even in Europe as in United States itself this linguistic change is as recent as the 20th century. It is important turning things upside down turning idleness. But this contrasts to work into leisure. It reveals itself as a revolution. As long as the United States is militarily dominant other countries and people will measure the success of their economy and government by the length of the workweek. Their goal will be to compare with United States to acquire and use the technology that brings them such street riches and leisure migration to the United States will continue service occupations will be open for high earners

and many will come for the relatively well-paid but lowly esteemed job. There may also be opportunity for the managerial and professional classes. They would come to this country for the riches or prestige they hope to command our free time. They will have little migration of the latter group has recently been brought to official fishel attention you know and I'm officially dubbed the brain drain. Policy and planning must be forewarned. The crisis if it is to come will occur before the next fifty years or it will be the crisis of disbanding a labor force that is no longer needed of changing men's faith in work to a faith in what we can see today only dimly as a life of non-work by 2020 dated in the past may be cut short a life of

good quality can soon thereafter. Perhaps for a hundred years. Press 200 may merely be to keep the path well trodden with his thoughts on the problems and promise of leisure. That was author and political scientist Dr. sebastián the Graziano of the Eagleton Institute of Politics Rutgers University. Dr. Degrassi has ideas bring to a close the night of this 12 part few of the next 50 years exploring this week. America's great social issue is next week this special series produced by in the E.R. and WMU FM Washington discusses the future needs of our society with regard to the contributions to be made through housing and urban form. Our speakers will include on the housing architect George kinder less urban planner Charles Abrams and city planner Jack Meltzer concerned with urban form the president

of Finland's housing foundation Heikki von Hertz and joint national educational radio next week for more important ideas on the needs of America for the next 50 years. This is NPR public affairs director Bill Greenwood reporting from Washington. This has been another program in the NERC and the next 15 years expressing a variety of opinions on the future of the democratic environment. These views were given of the 50 years we're going to bring to the American Institute of planners held in Washington in October of last year as there is one for those of my mind however. Bill Greenwood and Jack Burns and I when you am you ask them and I'm going to university radio in Washington do you think. This is any are the national educational radio network.