Can Work Still Be Considered a Virtue?

As prices continue to rise faster than wages, many people feel that honest work no longer guarantees a stable life. Can labor still be called a virtue if it is not fairly rewarded?

The recent rise in prices has far outpaced wage growth, creating the sense that ordinary work alone is no longer enough to make ends meet.

A news report said that a single person now needs more than 200,000 yen a month just to cover basic living expenses.

Even after marriage, it may be difficult to maintain a household unless both partners work. And when children are born, the amount of time parents can spend with them becomes limited.

Under such circumstances, it is hardly surprising that some people may come to see raising children as more of a burden than a joy.

The poet Ishikawa Takuboku once wrote:

“Though I work and work,
my life grows no easier—
I stare at my hands.”

Today, however, this no longer seems to be Takuboku’s lament alone. It has become a feeling shared by many.

Meanwhile, some people acquire enormous wealth through financial products and rising asset values—sums vastly greater than anything most people could earn through ordinary employment.

Finance is, of course, an important part of the economy.

Even so, has the gap not grown too wide between income earned through work and profit generated by assets?

There was once a time when working hard and earning one’s living by the sweat of one’s brow was regarded as a virtue in itself.

But in a society where people can work diligently and still lack financial security or hope for the future, can we continue to describe work itself as a virtue?

For work to be considered a virtue, it must first be fairly rewarded.

Work cannot remain a virtue in a society that refuses to reward it.

 

・・・

make ends meet
To have just enough money to pay for ordinary living expenses.
生活費を何とかやりくりする。

far outpace
To increase or develop much faster than something else.
大きく上回る、はるかに速く進む。

maintain a household
To financially support and manage a home and family.
家庭を維持する。

lament
An expression of sadness, regret, or disappointment.
嘆き、悲しみの表現。

financial products
Investments such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other financial instruments.
株式、債券、投資信託などの金融商品。

asset values
The monetary worth of property, investments, or other possessions.
資産価値。

by the sweat of one’s brow
By working very hard, especially through physical effort.
額に汗して、懸命に働いて。

fairly rewarded
Given appropriate pay, recognition, or benefit for one’s effort.
努力に対して正当に報われる。

#WorkAndSociety #CostOfLiving #EconomicInequality #JapaneseDoctor #Pathology