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..we believe in the "Dignity of man" and the "Dignity of labour."

The Greeks did not require such conceptual hallucinations, for among them the idea that labour is a disgrace is expressed with startling frankness;
...
Labour is a disgrace, because existence has no value in itself; but even though this very existence in the alluring embellishment of artistic illusions shines forth and really seems to have a value in itself, then that proposition is still valid that labour is a disgrace—a disgrace indeed by the fact that it is impossible for man, fighting for the continuance of bare existence, to become an artist. In modern times it is not the art-needing man but the slave who determines the general conceptions, the slave who according to his nature must give deceptive names to all conditions in order to be able to live. Such phantoms as the dignity of man, the dignity of labour, are the needy products of slavedom hiding itself from itself.

--- Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche. Early Greek Philosophy & Other Essays / Collected Works, Volume Two.

To Nietzsche, the idea that entrepreneurs take on challenges for the sake of "creating jobs" would sound like one of those conceptual hallucinations.

TIL: cutting edge

The principal part of a chisel is the cutting edge. If there is a single principle on which our business rests it is that. It makes no difference how finely made a chisel is or what splendid steel it has in it or how well it is forged—if it has no cutting edge it is not a chisel. It is just a piece of metal. All of which being translated means that it is what a thing does—not what it is supposed to do—that matters. What is the use of putting a tremendous force behind a blunt chisel if a light blow on a sharp chisel will do the work? The chisel is there to cut, not to be hammered. The hammering is only incidental to the job. So if we want to work why not concentrate on the work and do it in the quickest possible fashion? The cutting edge of merchandising is the point where the product touches the consumer. An unsatisfactory product is one that has a dull cutting edge. A lot of waste effort is needed to put it through. The cutting edge of a factory is the man and the machine on the job. If the man is not right the machine cannot be; if the machine is not right the man cannot be. For any one to be required to use more force than is absolutely necessary for the job in hand is waste.

--- Henry Ford, My Life and Work.

It looks like Henry Ford originated this expression.

Shithole country

Поговорил с медсестрой в госпитале.

Маски под замком. Их выдают, если есть инфекционный диагноз у пациента. Поскольку массовых тестов на COVID-19 нет, то диагнозов тоже нет. Соответственно, маски не выдают.

Это хуже, чем в Ухани. Там врачам и докторам выдавали хотя бы одну маску в день.

upd: В Ломбардии (Италия) 10% докторов и медсестер заражены коронавирусом. https://www.businessinsider.com/italys-lombardy-regions-healthcare-system-is-crumbling-to-covid-19-2020-3