“Very gradually, a money economy has replaced an economy in which things were produced for the use of the producer, and this changed has caused commodities to be viewed as useful rather than delightful” — Lecture 4, page 43
I believe this quote captures the main idea of the lecture because it provides the foundation for which Russell is talking about. In this quote, Russell says that people who have produced a product for their own pleasure, are now instead producing products to sell to others, they are being viewed as useful, not delightful. This quote ties in with the main idea of the lecture because in the lecture, Russell talks about the employers versus the employees, and how the employees are mainly focused on making a profit, while employees are mainly focused on their wages and hours. He mentions that in the past, workers did not care so much about what other people think about their products, and how much it is worth to them; they simply produced them for their own pleasure, but ever since the currency was created, they put a price on the products, and if there was any surplus, they would sell it. As you can see, this quote serves as the foundation for what Russell talks about in the lecture because the change in the economy ties in to the change in man’s technique, in what one is thinking about when creating a product.
This quote connects with the assertion Russell makes in lecture 3: The role of individuality. In Lecture 3, Russell conveys the idea that some individuals play an important role in society, in making progress in a society, whether it’s moral, intellectual, or artistic. He is saying that some individuals are significant in society because of the skills they possess. Likewise, in Lecture 4, he brings up the idea that people who create products for their own pleasure, who have a skill in specific area, can turn that skill into a monetary value. This kind of person can sell surplus products to other people for a price, and gain profit, while simultaneously circulating money in the economy, and helping society to transition to a money economy, from an economy that had producers create a product for their own use. Thus, in both Lecture 3 and 4, Russell talks about how some individuals contribute significantly in a society.
