Food may be god but to a hungry man only ; physiological demands have been relegated to a secondary place. Bread is a means to an end but not the end in itself. Civilized life has brought many responsibilities ; man has to identify his personal interests with the interests of the society and sacrifice personal needs at the altar of the social obligations. Modern man lives a more expanded life ; his thinking, actions and activities cover more than the members of the family or oneself. So if any one can manage to work for bread alone, he is not a complete man—a man who is undesirable and dangerous.
Man is ambitious by nature ; jealousy rivalry and desire for comforts and better life feed his ambitions. He works to realize his ambitions and once those are realized he fixes higher targets. Thus the struggle goes on. And the life becomes more complex and offers a larger number of temptations and ambitions multiply themselves. In addition to bread man must have means to enjoy entertainments, to get better education and to enjoy better living conditions.
Fear of death and life after death makes man to go on a spiritual quest. For this he may have to undergo pervance, fasts and many other things which in no way be linked with bread. The glory of man lies in spiritual enlightenment.
Passion for power is perhaps the most important motivation behind work. Since time immemorials man has been trying to dominate others sometimes by taking the help of religion, sometimes by physical force and sometimes by diplomacy. Even today man is prepared to sacrifice everything including his sense of justice and morality.
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Power got with money is the most sought after power today. It can satisfy many meaner emotions of man ; it helps him to influence others, to bribe some and overawe others. Moneyed person leads a luxurious life, establishes contacts with high-ups. It gives him the power to exploit, the power to dictate and the means to- enjoy social status. Similarly rich nations hold the poor countries as their hostage. The third world is virtually the slave of the rich countries.
many have lived and died for their ideals and ideologies. They worked tirelessly for these. When thinking is monopolized by an ideology one cannot entertain any other thought. Bread is the bare minimum which can keep us alive and in a starving world it may be the only aim of work modern man work for higher goals.