Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- Chronology
- Bibliographical note
- A note on the text
- News from Nowhere
- 1 Discussion and bed
- 2 A morning bath
- 3 The guest house and breakfast therein
- 4 A market by the way
- 5 Children on the road
- 6 A little shopping
- 7 Trafalgar Square
- 8 An old friend
- 9 Concerning love
- 10 Questions and answers
- 11 Concerning government
- 12 Concerning the arrangement of life
- 13 Concerning politics
- 14 How matters are managed
- 15 On the lack of incentive to labour in a communist society
- 16 Dinner in the hall of the Bloomsbury Market
- 17 How the change came
- 18 The beginning of the new life
- 19 The drive back to Hammersmith
- 20 The Hammersmith guest house again
- 21 Going up the river
- 22 Hampton Court, and a praiser of past times
- 23 An early morning by Runnymede
- 24 Up the Thames
- 25 The third day on the Thames
- 26 The Obstinate Refusers
- 27 The upper waters
- 28 The little river
- 29 A resting-place on the upper Thames
- 30 The journey's end
- 31 An old house amongst new folk
- 32 The feast's beginning – the end
- Index
- Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought
12 - Concerning the arrangement of life
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- Chronology
- Bibliographical note
- A note on the text
- News from Nowhere
- 1 Discussion and bed
- 2 A morning bath
- 3 The guest house and breakfast therein
- 4 A market by the way
- 5 Children on the road
- 6 A little shopping
- 7 Trafalgar Square
- 8 An old friend
- 9 Concerning love
- 10 Questions and answers
- 11 Concerning government
- 12 Concerning the arrangement of life
- 13 Concerning politics
- 14 How matters are managed
- 15 On the lack of incentive to labour in a communist society
- 16 Dinner in the hall of the Bloomsbury Market
- 17 How the change came
- 18 The beginning of the new life
- 19 The drive back to Hammersmith
- 20 The Hammersmith guest house again
- 21 Going up the river
- 22 Hampton Court, and a praiser of past times
- 23 An early morning by Runnymede
- 24 Up the Thames
- 25 The third day on the Thames
- 26 The Obstinate Refusers
- 27 The upper waters
- 28 The little river
- 29 A resting-place on the upper Thames
- 30 The journey's end
- 31 An old house amongst new folk
- 32 The feast's beginning – the end
- Index
- Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought
Summary
‘Well,’ I said, ‘about those “arrangements” which you spoke of as taking the place of government, could you give me any account of them?’
‘Neighbour,’ he said, ‘although we have simplified our lives a great deal from what they were, and have got rid of many conventionalities and many sham wants, which used to give our forefathers much trouble, yet our life is too complex for me to tell you in detail by means of words how it is arranged; you must find that out by living amongst us. It is true that I can better tell you what we don't do, than what we do do.’
‘Well?’ said I.
‘This is the way to put it,’ said he: ‘We have been living for a hundred and fifty years, at least, more or less in our present manner, and a tradition or habit of life has been growing on us; and that habit has become a habit of acting on the whole for the best. It is easy for us to live without robbing each other. It would be possible for us to contend with and rob each other, but it would be harder for us than refraining from strife and robbery. That is in short the foundation of our life and our happiness.’
‘Whereas in the old days,’ said I, ‘it was very hard to live without strife and robbery. That's what you mean, isn't it, by giving me the negative side of your good conditions?’
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Morris: News from Nowhere , pp. 82 - 86Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1995