Page 145 - down-and-out-in-paris-and-london

its power to set up enormous treadmills of boredom, such
as ‘smart’ hotels.
To sum up. A PLONGEUR is a slave, and a wasted slave,
doing stupid and largely unnecessary work. He is kept at
work, ultimately, because of a vague feeling that he would
be dangerous if he had leisure. And educated people, who
should be on his side, acquiesce in the process, because they
know nothing about him and consequently are afraid of
him. I say this of the PLONGEUR because it is his case I
have been considering; it would apply equally to number-
less other types of worker. These are only my own ideas
about the basic facts of a PLONGEUR’S life, made without
reference to immediate economic questions, and no doubt
largely platitudes. I present them as a sample of the thoughts
that are put into one’s head by working in an hotel.

1 Down and Out in Paris and London