[62] He should have
his own bread, his own roof, and all that is indispensable for life;
he must not be overworked, nor suffer anxiety or constraint;
"he must live independently, respect himself, have a tidy wife and
healthy and robust children."[63]
The community should guarantee him comfort, security, the certainty of
not going hungry if he becomes infirm, and, if he dies, of not leaving
his family in want.
"It is not enough," says Bar?re,[64] "to bleed the rich, to pull down
colossal fortunes; the slavery of poverty must be banished from the
soil of the Republic. No more beggars, no more almsgiving, no poor-
houses".
"The poor and unfortunates," says Saint Just, "are the powerful of
the earth; they have a right to speak as masters to the governments
which neglect them;[65] they have a right to national charity.... In
a democracy under construction, every effort should be made to free
people from having to battle for the bare minimum needed for survival;
by labor if he is fit for work, by education if he is a child, or with
public assistance if he is an invalid or in old age."[66]
And never had the moment been so favorable. "Rich in property, the
Republic now expects to use the many millions the rich would have
spent on a counter revolution for the improvement of the conditions of
its less fortunate citizens.
Pages:
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165