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The French word for work, 'travail', comes from 'tripalium', a medieval torture instrument. It's bad for everyone, and I definitely think a society where only one parent has to work instead of two is better.

A 'career' is something pop singers and top athletes (male or female) have. They even have agents to manage those careers. But most people have a job; they do work, travail, tripalium.

The fact that people confuse the two is just capitalist propaganda.




I was all set to be cunningham's-lawed into telling you that's wrong about "travail", but holy shit, you're right:

https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=travail

Maybe I shouldn't be so surprised, since English still has the word "travails".

"Work" on the other hand means action, doing:

https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=work

That's quite a difference: one is something no one wants, and the other is something everyone does.

"Labor" falls on the "travail" side, meaning exertion, pain:

https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=labor




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