XTC’s “Leisure” and the need for a universal basic income

"They taught me how to work / But they can't teach me how to shirk correctly": for the unemployed speaker in Andy Partridge's song "Leisure" on XTC's 1982 album "English Settlement", the powers-that-be ("they") failed to educate him for the life he is actually living. But in late twentieth-century capitalism, as well as today, "they" do not want workers to learn "how to shirk", that is, enjoy any leisure time, even in the face of chronic unemployment: "What a waste of breath it is / Searching for the jobs that don't exist." In 2024, I'm spinning this as an anthem calling for a universal basic income instead of a miserly dole. (Andrew Shields, #111Words, 4 August 2024)