Roza and Margarita Riaikkenen's
|
TOLSTOY ABOUT FUTURE By Roza Riaikkenen VII In his work What Should We Do? , Leo Tolstoy came to the conclusion about the
abusive role of money and the meaninglessness of forced labour and work just
for money and property, “for the sake of which all the horrible evil in the
world is taking place: wars, executions, courts, jails, depravity, murder and
doom for the people”. He understood that the only real human property is that
what a person is able and “has to apply, increase and improve. For any person,
such property is only he or she himself or herself.” Tolstoy rejected the attachment to personal property. In his consciousness, he disconnected the concepts
of property and labor, which are usually connected in the minds of the people
of our civilization. In Tolstoy’s mind and work, labor became “the essence and
joy of life”, any “labor, agricultural, and craft, and intellectual, and establishing
communications between the people”. “Retreat from one or many of common kind jobs and accepting a special
job will be justified only when a person of this special job, who loves this
job and knows that he or she does this job better than anyone else, sacrifices
his or her profit in order to be able to fulfil the requirements of this
particular job. Only this view of labor and the following natural separation of
duties eliminates the curse, which our imagination puts on labor; then any kind
of labor becomes joy because either a person will do an undoubtedly useful and
joyful, and none too burdensome work, or the person will understand their
sacrifice while doing a heavier, exceptional labor for the good of others.”
(L.Tolstoy, What Should We Do) These Tolstoy’s ideas haven’t been accepted and put into action by
the majority, neither in his time, nor even today. For the following century
our civilization passed further on its way of separation and intensification of
labor for the purpose of collecting money and property. The increase of
productivity became the target, for the sake of which the society is sacrificing
everything else: the environment, the morals, the education of children and
even their birth. Not long ago, there weren’t
any doubts that earlier or later all the countries and peoples would follow the
latter way of life, and on this way, everyone would find their personal good,
if only they would be able to fit into the market mechanism of a capitalist
state. The doubts appeared from two
sides: from the Nature herself, and from human nature. On the one hand,
productivity increase without the alteration in technologies is leading to
climate change. On the other hand, common standards of morality are declining.
The young generation, if it accepts consumerism and unlimited search for life
pleasures as its goal, is moving further towards drugs and alcohol consumption,
towards the unlimited sex without love, and towards violence and crimes. The events of daily life show
us that the society is in fact heading this way. So, we would like to return to
Tolstoy’s ideas and have a look on how he expected to turn people to voluntarily
loving work for the common good, and make everyone happy without consumerism.
The writer described this kind of life as following: “If people’s life is
filled with work and they know the pleasure of rest, they don’t need more of houses,
furniture, clothes, etc.; they need less of expensive foodstuff, vehicles,
entertainment…A person who thinks of their life as work will use their skills,
dexterity and endurance to have a fulfilling life through work.” When Tolstoy spoke about the
possibility of such lifestyle, wasn’t he just fantasising? Did he see anywhere
around such non-egoistic and sacrificial people enough to lead the society to
these goals? Yes, he saw this ability in women, who are naturally constantly
working with love and sacrifice for the sake of their children. When a woman is pregnant with
a baby and sick for 9 months; when she is giving birth, in pain and with risks
for her life; when she is nursing her baby and subduing the “strongest human
want for sleep” to her love for the baby; when she is later on minding and
educating the child, who often torments her, and she looks neither for a result
nor for a reward for her sacrificial work around the clock – this is, according
to Tolstoy, the image of real work, on the brink of life and death, which is
possible only because of great love. A mother is able to teach her
children to do such unselfish work and educate them in a way that they would
feel a need for such work. “She will not need to ask what should she teach and
to which outcomes to prepare her children: she knows what is people’s vocation,
and therefore knows what to teach and for what to prepare the children.” “A mother of this kind will give birth by
herself, feed by herself; she will first and foremost feed and prepare food for
her children, and sew, and wash, and teach her children, and sleep and speak
with them, because she understands this work as the purpose of her life. Only
this kind of woman-mother will not look for outward security for her children
like the money of her husband or the children’s diplomas – she will cultivate
in them the ability of selfless execution of the divine will, which she knows
in herself, the ability of carrying work while spending and risking her life,
because she knows that only this can secure and bring good into life. A mother
of this kind will not ask others what she should do – she will know everything
and fear nothing.” According to Tolstoy, such
woman-mother is reaching in her life that highest perfection, “to which people
are striving as to the highest good”, and she can teach men this perfection. “Women of this kind, who
follow and execute their vocation, are leading the men-leaders; women of this
kind are preparing the new generations of people and establishing social
opinion; and therefore in the hands of these women lies the highest power of
saving the people from the existing and threatening evils of our times.” And in
the conclusion Tolstoy writes: “Yes, women-mothers, in your hands, more than in
anyone else’s, is the saving of the world!” |
|