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“Students? Don’t be ridiculous! How can we pay? None of us has that much money!”
Mr Rafone smiles that sort of smile which suggests, “come on, can nobody figure it out,” combined with a, “you know I’m going to tell you anyway,” and a, “how much longer should I keep you floundering.”
Finally he interjects, “employers.”
He pauses and looks at the astonished faces staring at him. That’s most of the class.
“So, what exactly is the Work Impost?”
The point of this Civics lesson is not to teach the class about Work Impost, but about the importance of doing something for society in exchange for money. Bluntly put, this is the “work or die” lesson.
Whether products or services, everybody is expected to work to provide something, and then they are paid for doing that work.
The spectrum is very wide with farm labourers being paid poorly, to ships’ captains being paid well. Artisans like carpenters, saddlers and tailors are paid in direct proportion to the work that they do. Grocers and merchants for what they sell, doctors and lawyers in exchange for the services they provide.
Mr Rafone likes to remind people of Darwin’s theory of evolution. Those who are the most responsive to change are the ones who are most likely to survive. The population of Wolfland thrives, because it has adapted to a new world order. It’s not about “survival of the fittest”, it’s about being “responsive to change”. Darwin didn’t say “survival of the fittest” until the fourth edition of his book, and it was only in that, because Herbert Spencer had kept badgering him.
“You adapt or die,” says Mr Rafone, “even Benet has adapted and earns a living in spite of his odd lifestyle.”
“If you have no work, for example if you’re a child, or you’re a homemaker, then somebody in the family will have to make enough money to look after everybody else in the household. If you’re a musician, an actor or an author, then you
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