feastingonroadkill:

Abolish Alienated Work

One for the office tomorrow, eh?

Rien ne sert d’être vivant, le temps qu’on travaille. L’événement dont chacun est en droit d’attendre la révélation du sens de sa propre vie, cet événement que peut-être je n’ai pas encore trouvé mais sur la voie duquel je me cherche, n’est pas au prix du travail.

André BRETON, Nadja, 1928

[translation and paraphrase: “work is bullshit and a distraction from life’s true meaning”]

Oh, and the word aliéné is actually closer in meaning to insane, than it is to alienating.  When used as a noun it essentially means “lunatic”.  When used as an adjective, as it is here, it means ‘crazy’.

aliéné, adjectif Féminin ée.  Sens 1 Fou, atteint de maladie mentale [Psychologie]. Synonyme déséquilibré Anglais insane

But then we already knew that (the ‘work is bullshit’ part, not the French part), didn’t we?  To work is not my choice, it is one that is made for me by circumstance.  However meaningless and insane my job is (and it is both of those things), I have no choice but to humiliate myself.  If I don’t prostitute myself, I don’t eat.  That’s the sad state of my affairs.  Your mileage may vary.