--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Unlike side issues like unemployment…" description: "\"Unlike side issues like unemployment, unions, and minimum-wage laws, the subject of work itself is almost entirely absent from libertarian literature. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f2/bob-black-24650_absent_unlike-side-issues-like-unemployment-uni_2097734.jpg" --- # Unlike side issues like unemployment, unions, and… ![“Unlike side issues like unemployment, unions, and minimum-wage laws, the subject of work itself is almost entirely absent from libertarian literature. Most of what little there is consists of Randite rantings against parasites, barely distinguishable from the invective inflicted on dissidents by…” quote by Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f2/bob-black-24650_absent_unlike-side-issues-like-unemployment-uni_2097734.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f2/bob-black-24650_absent_unlike-side-issues-like-unemployment-uni_2097734.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f2/bob-black-24650_absent_unlike-side-issues-like-unemployment-uni_2097734.jpg) > “Unlike side issues like unemployment, unions, and minimum-wage laws, the subject of work itself is almost entirely absent from libertarian literature. Most of what little there is consists of Randite rantings against parasites, barely distinguishable from the invective inflicted on dissidents by the Soviet press…” [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Libertarian literature largely ignores the nature of work, focusing instead on other issues and often echoing hostile rhetoric. **In simple terms:** Libertarianism neglects work topics. Key Takeaway Critically examine libertarian views on labor. Themes politics labor libertarianism ideology Mood analytical critical Type political academic When to use this quote - policy debates - academic curricula - labor activism Key Concepts political theory economic critique Questions to Reflect On - Why is work omitted? - How can labor be integrated into libertarian thought? A Different Perspective The critique may overlook libertarian contributions to other economic discussions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Dissidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissidents/) [Issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Libertarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libertarian/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Minimum wage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minimum-wage/) [Parasites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parasites/) [Soviet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soviet/) [Unemployment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unemployment/) [Unions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unions/) ## Related quotes > [Usually, the subject matter of the image is not the subject of the work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roni-horn/usually-the-subject-matter-of-the-image-is-not-the-subject-of-the-work/) [Roni Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roni-horn/) > [The subject of my work has a lot to do with general, artistic matters, questions like: What is creativity? Where do we come from?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-subject-of-my-work-has-a-lot-to-do-with-general-artistic-matters/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you got problems like unemployment, Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare and there's a guy that's always been there for you and for your family,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-got-problems-like-unemployment-social-security-medicaid/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [High mandated minimum wages will throw people out of work and onto the welfare rolls in cases where unemployment benefits exist. When it comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-hanke/high-mandated-minimum-wages-will-throw-people-out-of-work-and-onto/) [Steve Hanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-hanke/) > [We obviously would like to get unemployment as low as we possibly can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-obviously-would-like-to-get-unemployment-as-low-as-we-possibly-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think most people believe success in government is how many fewer people are in government, not because you kick them off of benefits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-walker/i-think-most-people-believe-success-in-government-is-how-many-fewer/) [Scott Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-walker/) > [My own feminist revolution evolved slowly, and traveled the world with me. To this day I have no idea what dissident professor or librarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-eltahawy/my-own-feminist-revolution-evolved-slowly-and-traveled-the-world-with/) [Mona Eltahawy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-eltahawy/) > [The "prophets" were what we would call dissident intellectuals. They provided critical geopolitical analysis, condemned the crimes of the powerful, called for justice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-prophets-were-what-we-would-call-dissident-intellectuals-they/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Whenever there is injustice, oppression, aggression, violence, it's standard for it to be supported by those we now call "intellectuals," but typically not by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/whenever-there-is-injustice-oppression-aggression-violence-it-s/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The ultimate test of a society's freedom is not how it treats its good, obedient, compliant citizens; it's how it treats its dissidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/the-ultimate-test-of-a-society-s-freedom-is-not-how-it-treats-its/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [America will not pretend that jailed dissidents prefer their chains, or that women welcome humiliation and servitude, or that any human being aspires to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/america-will-not-pretend-that-jailed-dissidents-prefer-their-chains/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Dissidents are not imprisoned as in the domains of the Kremlin, in the old days. They do not have their brains blown out by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/dissidents-are-not-imprisoned-as-in-the-domains-of-the-kremlin-in-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Luckily I was not born in Eastern Europe, because I might have been born into the communist establishment and I'm glad I was not.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amira-hass/luckily-i-was-not-born-in-eastern-europe-because-i-might-have-been/) [Amira Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amira-hass/) > [An American professor complained that a crypto-Marxist like me was invited in the USA, and I was denounced by the press in Eastern European…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/an-american-professor-complained-that-a-crypto-marxist-like-me-was/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [Dominion is a spy novel, a love story, and also I hope gives some sense of the difficulties faced by dissidents under any totalitarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-sansom/dominion-is-a-spy-novel-a-love-story-and-also-i-hope-gives-some-sense/) [C.J. Sansom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-sansom/) ## More by Bob Black > [You are what you do. If you do boring, stupid, monotonous work, chances are you'll end up boring, stupid, and monotonous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/you-are-what-you-do-if-you-do-boring-stupid-monotonous-work-chances/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [I call for a collective adventure in generalized joy and freely interdependent exuberance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/i-call-for-a-collective-adventure-in-generalized-joy-and-freely/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [People aren't as stupid as the politicians think. More and more of us are laughing off our 'civic duty' to vote, rejecting the role…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/people-aren-t-as-stupid-as-the-politicians-think-more-and-more-of-us/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [Some people giving orders and others obeying them: this is the essence of servitude. Of course, as Hospers smugly observes, "one can at least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/some-people-giving-orders-and-others-obeying-them-this-is-the-essence/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [“Looking for work sounds almost as bad as finding it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/looking-for-work-sounds-almost-as-bad-as-finding-it/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [Liberals say we should end employment discrimination. I say we should end employment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/liberals-say-we-should-end-employment-discrimination-i-say-we-should/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [Leisure is non-work for the sake of work. Leisure is the time spent recovering from work and in the frenzied but hopeless attempt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/leisure-is-non-work-for-the-sake-of-work-leisure-is-the-time-spent/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [I call for a collective adventure in generalized joy and freely interdependent exuberance. Play isn't passive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/i-call-for-a-collective-adventure-in-generalized-joy-and-freely-2/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [Cleansed of its leftist residues, anarchy - anarchism minus Marxism - will be free to get better at being what it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/cleansed-of-its-leftist-residues-anarchy-anarchism-minus-marxism-will/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [The reinvention of daily life means marching off the edge of our maps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/the-reinvention-of-daily-life-means-marching-off-the-edge-of-our-maps/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [ \[Libertarians\] don't denounce what the state does, they just object to who's doing it. This is why the people most victimized by the state… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/libertarians-don-t-denounce-what-the-state-does-they-just-object-to/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [You are what you do. If you do boring, stupid monotonous work, chances are you'll end up boring, stupid and monotonous. Work is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/you-are-what-you-do-if-you-do-boring-stupid-monotonous-work-chances-2/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [Play is always voluntary. What might otherwise be play is work if it's forced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/play-is-always-voluntary-what-might-otherwise-be-play-is-work-if-it-s/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [To demonize state authoritarianism while ignoring identical albeit contract-consecrated subservient arrangements in the large-scale corporations which control the world economy is fetishism at its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/to-demonize-state-authoritarianism-while-ignoring-identical-albeit/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [It is now possible to abolish work and replace it, insofar as it serves useful purposes, with a multitude of new kinds of free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/it-is-now-possible-to-abolish-work-and-replace-it-insofar-as-it/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) [Explore all 24 Bob Black quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) ## More Absent quotes > [Majority decisions tend to be made without engaging the systematic thought and critical thinking skills of the individuals in the group. 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They seek each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/they-are-enthusiasts-devotees-addicts-something-about-the-circus/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [The interesting thing about an absent father is, for a child, you don't know he's absent. You just think he's... tardy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-majors/the-interesting-thing-about-an-absent-father-is-for-a-child-you-don-t/) [Jonathan Majors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-majors/) > [For my own part, I would rather be in company with a dead man than with an absent one; for if the dead man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-my-own-part-i-would-rather-be-in-company-with-a-dead-man-than/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If measure and symmetry are absent from any composition in any degree, ruin awaits both the ingredients and the composition... Measure and symmetry are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-measure-and-symmetry-are-absent-from-any-composition-in-any-degree/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“You may not appreciate the presence of good health, but you will definitely regret the absence of good health, because health is happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/you-may-not-appreciate-the-presence-of-good-health-but-you-will/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [... if we are ashamed to imitate our Lord's sufferings, which He endured for us, and to suffer as He suffered, it is obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/symeon-the-new-theologian/if-we-are-ashamed-to-imitate-our-lord-s-sufferings-which-he-endured/) [Symeon the New Theologian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/symeon-the-new-theologian/) > [It's Simon, he's missing." Ahh." said Magnus delicately "Missing what exactly?" Missing!" Jace repeated "As in gone, absent, notable for his lack of presence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/it-s-simon-he-s-missing-ahh-said-magnus-delicately-missing-what/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Anger clearly has its proper place at work, which is neither wholly absent nor ever present. The manager who is an emotional blank is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/anger-clearly-has-its-proper-place-at-work-which-is-neither-wholly/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [They were not mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, they were absent in the Constitution and they were invisible in the new political democracy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/they-were-not-mentioned-in-the-declaration-of-independence-they-were/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Religion has always been a matter of community building; a matter of building precisely those relations of compassion, fellow feeling and - I dare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/religion-has-always-been-a-matter-of-community-building-a-matter-of/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [A FRIEND IS A PERSON . . . With whom you can be sincere. . . . 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