All Labour Requires Intelligence

 

The Russian-American philosopher and author Ayn Rand has come up on the HPWA before. In the background links below you'll see where her work has previously influenced this project. In her novels there is a powerful message against snobbery. Many of the heroes have a working class background, most notably Howard Roark. The main characters all have friends in so-called "less important" professions; the man who runs the cigarette kiosk at the railway station, the trusty metal workers at Hank Reardon's factory, the stowaway on the train, the typewriter technician in the first chapter of Atlas Shrugged etc. This is proof that one does not have to be leftwing to champion the welfare of the rank-and-file citizens. I've found that of all the people I have encountered, both personally and by repute, Ayn Rand is one of the few who would truly have understood me when I say I'm proud to be a hospital porter. In this audio recording you can hear Rand describe her thoughts personally, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zFCnxjPk64. This was made in October 1980 during an interview for The Raymond Newman Journal. As a former hospital porter I approve of this message. As she says, all labour requires intelligence and being "lower" does not make you less worthy. There is nothing wrong at all with saying: "I am proud to do..." whatever your occupation is, even if it is one with low conventional social status. There is no such thing as a menial job; jobs are either done well or they are done badly.
See here for background: https://hpanwo-hpwa.blogspot.com/2025/03/he-loved-his-work.html.
And: https://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2018/11/we-living-by-ayn-rand.html.