“ Working men ‘work’, beggars do not ‘work’; they are parasites, worthless in their very nature. ”
George Orwell, Down and Out in Paris and London (1933). copy citation
| Author | George Orwell |
|---|---|
| Source | Down and Out in Paris and London |
| Topic | work beggar |
| Date | 1933 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks01/0100171.txt |
Context
“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. People seem to feel that there is some essential difference between beggars and ordinary ‘working’ men. They are a race apart–outcasts, like criminals and prostitutes. Working men ‘work’, beggars do not ‘work’; they are parasites, worthless in their very nature. It is taken for granted that a beggar does not ‘earn’ his living, as a bricklayer or a literary critic ‘earns’ his. He is a mere social excrescence, tolerated because we live in a humane age, but essentially despicable.”
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