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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ragged-Trousered_Philanthropists
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Clearly frustrated at the refusal of his contemporaries to recognise the inequity and iniquity of society, Tressell’s cast of hypocritical Christians, exploitative capitalists and corrupt councillors provide a backdrop for his main target — the workers who think that a better life is “not for the likes of them”. Hence the title of the book; Tressell paints the workers as “philanthropists” who throw themselves into back-breaking work for poverty wages in order to generate profit for their masters.
The hero of the book, Frank Owen, is a socialist who believes that the capitalist system is the real source of the poverty he sees all around him. In vain he tries to convince his fellow workers of his world view, but finds that their education has trained them to distrust their own thoughts and to rely on those of their “betters”. Much of the book consists of conversations between Owen and the others, or more often of lectures by Owen in the face of their jeering; this was presumably based on Tressell’s own experiences.
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The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert TRESSELL read by Tadhg Part 1/4 | Full Audio Book
LibriVox Audiobooks on Jul 22, 2018
Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell 1914.
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Read the book online:
https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks/fr100018.txt
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The new version of RTP ought to spell RIP for the old, cynical con-game of winner takes all.
How anyone can rejoice in living a despicable life-long lie to exploit the willingness and scruples of others is just beyond me.
I guess it’s all down to conditioned reflex. There are some very sad people aboard this satellite Earth..
Reblogged this on Wondering Why.