[MD] Where have all the values gone?

[Ant McWatt]

Platt stated to Arlo, January 24th 2006:

>If 350 hours more free time per year is better, why not 700 more, or 1000 
>more,
>or how about the rest of your life off with full pay for doing nothing? Now
>that would be ideal wouldn't it? Except, who is going to pay? I've heard of
>sabbaticals where academics get a year off with pay to pursue their bliss, 
>but
>guess who pays?

Platt,

Just a quick comment about the last sentence in the above paragraph.

In my experience, sabbaticals aren’t that common and the only academics (who 
- remember have helped furnish you with the high quality life you presently 
enjoy) who get sabbaticals "with a year off with pay to pursue their bliss" 
are long serving hard working researchers of high quality and/or the poor 
buggers who have taken on additional administration for an extended period 
of time such as Head of Departments.

For anyone who doesn’t want any of the furnishings of modern civilisation 
provided in a large part by the research carried out in universities (over 
the centuries) there’s still jungle, desert and artic areas to move to.

Best wishes,

Anthony


P.S. A rather more balanced view than Platt's is provided by Robert Tressell 
("The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists", 2005, p.273) who recognised five 
distinct classes in modern civilisation:

1. Loafers (such as Tramps/beggars/the Aristocracy).

2. Exploiters of labour (such as 
thieves/swindlers/burglars/capitalists/Religious "ministers").

3. All those engaged in unnecessary work (such as marketing people).

4. All those engaged in necessary work - the production of the benefits of 
civilisation.

and,

5. The unemployed.


I think you'll find that most, if not all, academics are in category four.

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