Tuesday 6 January 2009

Manpower


Postcards are invaluable reference material about the past but, just occasionally, they can supply a glimpse into the future. As fossil fuels become exhausted we can expect to see a lot more of this kind of transport. There are few more potent ways in which one human being can assert their superior economic and social status over another than being conveyed in this fashion. The unfortunate provider of motive power is reduced to the condition of a beast of burden and compelled to compete for work with horses, donkeys and bullocks. Unappealing as it is, perhaps we should be preparing ourselves for this kind of toil. Human dignity is one of the first casualties of economic catastrophe.


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