L. Ron Hubbard, the
creator of Dianetics and Scientology, understood that he had to keep his
followers busy, and had to keep them buying. So, to relate Scientology to every aspect of his followers' lives, he produced a large number of books, including The Problems
Of Work: Scientology Applied To The Workaday World.
He begins the book with
one of his great claims: “Scientology is
already in use in many of the larger businesses of Earth” (page 1). He, of course, offers no examples. He lists no
specific business, but does specify that they are “of Earth.” It might seem a silly distinction to make, but L. was a
science fiction writer, so his loyal readers probably needed that made clear.
Soon he makes another of
his amazing claims: “Scientology is
something new under the sun. But, young as it is, it is still the only
completely and thoroughly tested and validated science of existence” (p.
14). So it’s a science, not a religion? Why does it have tax-exempt status
then? Well, his wild claims continue: “Scientology
can, and does, increase human intelligence. By the most exact tests known, it
has been proven that Scientology can greatly increase intelligence in an
individual. And Scientology can do other things. It can reduce reaction time
and it can pull the years off one’s appearance” (p. 14). Wow, it can make
you smarter, more alert and better looking.
“Confusion is the basic cause of stupidity. To the stupid, all things
except the very simple ones are confused. Thus, if one knew the anatomy of
confusion, no matter how bright one might be, he would be brighter” (p.
22). I’m a bit concerned, because this book is confusing me, and as I just
learned, that could lead to stupidity. I suppose the best thing would be to
stop reading this and go read something that is more clearly written.
Regarding how to handle a
confused employee, L. writes: “‘This is a
machine,’ you say. Then make him sure of it. Make him feel it, fiddle with it,
push at it. ‘This is a machine,’ tell
him. And you’d be surprised how long it may take, but you’d be surprised as
well how his certainty increases” (p. 25). Yes, after a while he will be certain
that the machine is a machine. Or you could hire someone who is a little less
regarded and already understands that it’s a machine. Then you could start
right in on what he or she is actually supposed to do with the machine, rather
than spending a day convincing your new employee that it is a machine.
Confusion is certainly
the problem. L. writes: “So long as one
is being confused by confusions, all he can think about are destructive things –
what he wants to do most is to destroy the confusion” (p. 26). That is so
true. Whenever confusions are confusing me, my thoughts turn to destruction of
confusion rather than trying to reason or compromise with confusion.
As always, L. is obsessed
with insanity, which he equates here with an inability to work. “As the amount of automatic machinery
increases in our society, so increases the percentile of our people who are
insane” (p. 34). He also believes that giving jobs to insane people will cure
them of their madness. Sure, but please don’t let them pilot airplanes or sort
my mail.
By the way, if you felt
safe from madness, you might want to think again. L. tells us, “Insanity is contagious” (p. 61). I once
caught the crazy from a girl I was seeing, but I’m better now. L. continues: “Confusion is contagious. Have you ever
talked to a confused man without yourself, at the end of the conversation, feeling
a little confused? Thus it is in work” (p. 61).
Interestingly, L. equates
work, and all of life, with a game. He believes that people need enemies, or
opponents, and that if they don’t have them, they will invent them. An odd,
somewhat paranoid viewpoint. Is it possible that L., the leader of a cult, wasn’t
entirely stable?
On page 72, he writes, “The subject of this book is work.” A
handy little reminder, because sometimes it’s unclear just what the hell he’s going
on about. Thanks, L.
Throughout the book, L.
talks about vague cases of individuals, people who must have only been able to
get the help they needed through L.’s organization. At one point he talks of a
girl who was unhappy and as a result was doing poorly at her job. “Now ordinarily in the workaday world, the
office manager would have dismissed her and found another girl. But employment
was critical at the time and this office manager knew the modern thing to do:
He sent for a Scientologist” (p. 86). That’s just what I would do. I
certainly wouldn’t attempt to talk to the girl on my own. Leave that to the
experts. It’s best to send for a Scientologist. Just ring up the office and
order one, like calling for a taxi or an exorcist.
L. writes: “If a
man were to go all the way around an office in which he had worked for years
and touch the walls and window ledges and the equipment and tables and desks
and chairs – ascertaining carefully the feel of each one, carefully locating
each one with regard to the walls and other items in the room – he would feel
much better about the entire room” (p. 78). This is a point that is so
important that it’s illustrated on the following page, and below the
illustration the point is repeated. And look, there’s a little star where the
guy touched each object. He’s creating his own little constellation in his work
environment. I think it’s interesting that there are no other employees in the
drawing. Perhaps that’s because if there were, they’d all be staring at him or
even wrestling him to the floor. After all, it’s difficult to get your own work
done when a fellow employee wants to touch everything on your desk and create
little stars.
This little touching game
isn’t limited to simply the work environment. L. writes: “It sounds very strange that if one simply touched his automobile and
let go, and touched it and let go, and touched it and let go, and touched it
and let go, possibly for some hours, he would regain not only his enthusiasm
for the automobile, but a tremendous ability to control the automobile which he
had never suspected in himself at all” (p. 98) I agree: It does sound very
strange. I don’t think Scientologists should be allowed to teach drivers
education. Then again, L. sagely writes, “When
one turns loose an automobile wheel and hopes the car will stay on the road, by
luck, he is often disappointed.” That is so true.
This book also offers
some advice regarding marriage: “If one
feels antagonistic towards one’s wife, the wrong thing to do is ‘beat her’!”
(p. 112). I wonder why “beat her” is
in quotation marks. And remember: “Before
two people can feel any affinity for each other, they must to some degree be
real” (p. 85). That is so true. It is difficult to have affection for
someone if that person doesn’t actually exist. At least to some degree.
By the way, regarding the
whole touching of objects thing, L. writes: “This sounds like magic. It is magic. It is Scientology” (p. 98).
Wait, is Scientology a science, or religion, or magic? I am so confused.
The Problems Of Work: Scientology Applied To The Workaday World was
published in 1957. The edition I read is from 2007.
No comments:
Post a Comment