If your argument is that work , and work alone , is what is keeping the average man from committing crimes out of sheer boredom . it doesn ' t deserve much of an intellectual response . Is the only thing keeping you from committing crime , is that you are employed presumably ? If yes , you are a lunatic and a psychopath . If no , why on earth do you think this is how your fellow man thinks and behaves ? Having the freedom to not work is what freed Socrates and Plato and many of the ancient thinkers from their mental chains it helped develop the entirety of Western philosophical thought that you and I so cherish . Why do you think a man is only his job , and a man can only find purpose when trading his TIME for MONEY whilst spending the majority of their effort each day doing something they would never do for free ? I work my ass off and make great money Real Estate Acquisition , but my mind and purpose could be so much more if I weren ' t limited and my mind was MUCH more limited when I was a slave making average income who had much less economic freedom .