Paul Lafargue

author

Paul Lafargue

1842–1911

A sharp, provocative socialist writer and activist, he is best remembered for "The Right to Be Lazy," a witty attack on the worship of endless work. Closely tied to the early Marxist movement in France, he brought politics, journalism, and literary criticism together in a lively, combative voice.

2 Audiobooks

The right to be lazy, and other studies

The right to be lazy, and other studies

by Paul Lafargue

Le droit à la paresse : $b réfutation du droit au travail de 1848

Le droit à la paresse : $b réfutation du droit au travail de 1848

by Paul Lafargue

About the author

Born in Santiago de Cuba in 1842, he later became a major figure in French socialism. He studied medicine in Paris, became involved in radical politics, and was eventually drawn into the circle around Karl Marx; in 1868 he married Marx's daughter Laura.

Lafargue wrote as a journalist, critic, and political activist, helping to spread Marxist ideas in France and taking part in the socialist movement during a turbulent period of strikes, repression, and party-building. His best-known work, The Right to Be Lazy, remains famous for its bold, ironic argument that modern society turns labor into a false ideal.

He died in 1911 with Laura Lafargue. More than a century later, he is still remembered as an energetic and controversial voice of early socialism, valued for combining serious political commitment with humor and sharp social criticism.