WHAT IS HINDUISM?
to be used at the behest of their bosses, and paid only
according to its quantity and market value. In this way work
becomes what Marx called ‘wage slavery’ – taking what is
most precious to each individual – namely their time and
awareness – and turning it into a mere commodity to be
bought, sold, focussed and directed by the will of another.
The capitalist employer seeks to extract ever more
quantities of time out of their employees in order to exploit
it as the source of ‘surplus value’ – profit – whilst at the
same time demanding an ever-greater focussing or
concentration of awareness on multiple tasks and
objectives. The result is not just a quantitative loss of time
for those things of most value to the individual, but a
general diminution of time quality – and with it both quality
of life and work. Along with this goes a narrowing of
awareness accompanied by ‘anxiety’ or ‘angst’ (both words
whose Germanic roots (angu/angxt ) refer to ‘narrowness’
or Enge – as in the name Eng-land or ‘narrow land’).
The culture of capitalism is also one in which time is
seen as something to be ever more productively used or
filled. Yet the very identification of ‘productivity’ with speed
and measurable quantities of times is ultimately counter-
productive, diminishing quality of time, quality of work and
quality of decision-making in all spheres of life, personal,
economic and political. Actions become purely reactive or
mere expressions of wilful or egotistic ‘single-mindedness’
rather than arising out of an awareness of alternate possible