Meeting Jim

All you readers of my newsletters know about fullering I think. As opposed “to work” – which means to spend energy painfully -, “to fuller” means to spend energy joyfully. I am fullering when I compose these newsletters and send them out to you. I have fullered all my life. It describes one’s attitude to any endeavour. Do you enjoy what you do? Is the payment the doing of it or are you doing it to get money? This is the key difference between working and fullering. Are you a worker or a fullerer? “Fullerers of the world unite!” Maybe we can help save this crazy old planet yet – with laughter and joy.

Like most so-called intellectuals here in France, I, too, am a Marxist. But, unlike many, I am a Groucho Marxist. OK – “Workers of the world unite” – but everyone spends energy, so in one sense everyone is a worker. I feel that our political goal is not to unite workers but rather to eliminate work as such. Maybe there are some jobs that cannot be done by fullerers. In that case, let us share work. But there is no need to create work. I wish to replace the “work ethic” with the 60’s slogan:
Do your own thing! Machines can either enslave us or free us – depending upon us. We decide. You and me.

And another thing. Marxists and so-called capitalists both agree that “capital” is money. But they both over-look that pure energy and creative intelligence is also capital. With energy and intelligence alone, one can build, create, forge, do, act. Most of the projects I have been connected with in my life have been produced by fullering, by combining energy and intelligence. My big complaint with communism is that it seems to kill initiative/ discourage exploration. I feel the world needs more “thinkers” – the Edisons, Marconis, Pasteurs, Michelanglos – not less. Surely some kind of non-dogmatic mixed economy (i.e. the best of both worlds) is what we need. I feel that there must be very little real difference for the so-called “worker” in/under a capitalist or a communist economy; both are obsessed with the “work ethic”. But in a world where everyone fullered, everyone would be happy.

So in order to find out how many fullerers there are out there, and to encourage the spread of fullering generally, I plan to produce o book to be entitled FULLERING. You can help me (of course). Answer the following questions (and any other that you might like to add) and return them to me as soon as possible. Alas, we don’t have too much time to spare…

1. Who are you?
2. What do you do?
3. Why do you do it?
4. Is it meaningful, fun, etc? Why?
5. What are the rewards? (in every sense of the word)
6. What do you do in your ‘spare’ time?
7. Do you want to retire? Why? Why not?
8. What can we do to further fullering? to eliminate work?

To: Jim Haynes, Atelier A2, 83 rue de la Tombe-Issoire, 75014 Paris
I,……………………………………….., more or less agree with you, and therefore am sending my answers to your questions above for
possible use in your book, FULLERING. I also promise to fuller while I answer your questions.
Date:………………………. ………………..
(signature)
Names & Address (please print) :