Labor is to cultivate a bumper harvest from seeds, plant deserts into oases, spin silk into splendid scenery, and turn grains into fine wine.
Labor is the cornice of Epang Palace, the chisel marks on the stone steps of Huashan Mountain, the splendor of Terracotta Warriors and Horses, and the rows of bricks and stones of the Great Wall.
The meaning of labor
A young friend told me about his childhood life in the countryside. Since he was a teenager, he often walked dozens or even dozens of miles of mountain roads to collect firewood. At most, he carried more than 200 kilograms of branches home at a time. I don't know where he got his energy now. This kind of work is almost unheard of, especially for young people in the city. Some of them have grown into teenagers or even twenties and have never done much work. How can a child who grows up like this adapt to the needs of society if he wants to make a living by himself?
Some developed countries have legislated that children over the age of six must take part in a certain amount of housework, which is just the opposite of the situation in China.
Marx believes that man is human because labor creates man. Being so far away from labor will inevitably lead to the degradation of human beings, which has been manifested in the next generation, not only in physical quality, but also in quality and will. A person who has not been tempered by labor can hardly appreciate the true taste of life and is doomed to be unable to take on the "heavy responsibility". Labor makes people know what life is like, and labor cultivates people's tenacity and perseverance. It is in this sense that many educated youths believe that although their golden years have been delayed, it is still valuable for them to go to the countryside. But it is precisely this generation that dotes on their children more than their predecessors, which is obviously irrational. Is it a kind of psychological compensation at work? Or is it because of the demographic structure? Whatever the reason, what we have seen is worrying. There are no exact statistics. In my impression, this generation of teenagers spend almost less time doing housework than any generation in history. In addition to the necessary health work, even schools have cancelled the arrangement of studying as workers and peasants, so that quite a few students don't know what it's like to work until they are teenagers. Its negative impact will be far-reaching.
On the one hand, it is heavy and trivial study, which almost fills all the time during the day, even without necessary entertainment, on the other hand, it is far from labor; What harm this will bring to the psychology and temperament of the next generation may not be overestimated. At present, mental illness among college students and middle school students is an unavoidable fact. I think labor is an indispensable part of shaping people.