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Didn't read this one for quite a while. Thank you, jonathanstrange. :-) Pasting it here from wikipedia [0]: The story is set in an unnamed harbor on the w
by rawland 9y ago
Didn't read this one for quite a while. Thank you, jonathanstrange. :-)
Pasting it here from wikipedia [0]:
The story is set in an unnamed harbor on the west coast of
Europe.[1] A smartly-dressed enterprising tourist is taking
photographs when he notices a shabbily dressed local fisherman
taking a nap in his fishing boat. The tourist is disappointed with
the fisherman's apparently lazy attitude towards his work, so he
approaches the fisherman and asks him why he is lying around instead
of catching fish. The fisherman explains that he went fishing in the
morning, and the small catch would be sufficient for the next two
days.
The tourist tells him that if he goes out to catch fish multiple
times a day, he would be able to buy a motor in less than a year, a
second boat in less than two years, and so on. The tourist further
explains that one day, the fisherman could even build a small cold
storage plant, later a pickling factory, fly around in a helicopter,
build a fish restaurant, and export lobster directly to Paris
without a middleman.
The nonchalant fisherman asks, "Then what?"
The tourist enthusiastically continues, "Then, without a care in the
world, you could sit here in the harbor, doze in the sun, and look
at the glorious sea."
"But I'm already doing that", says the fisherman.
The enlightened tourist walks away pensively, with no trace of pity
for the fisherman, only a little envy.
[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anekdote_zur_Senkung_der_Arbeitsmoral https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anekdote_zur_Senkung_der_Arbei...