In contrast to Mises’ definition of leisure as the antithesis of labor, I prefer David Graeber’s take on fun:
“To exercise one’s capacities to their fullest extent is to take pleasure in one’s own existence, and with sociable creatures, such pleasures are proportionally magnified when performed in company. From the Russian perspective, this does not need to be explained. It is simply what life is. We don’t have to explain why creatures desire to be alive. Life is an end in itself. And if what being alive actually consists of is having powers—to run, jump, fight, fly through the air—then surely the exercise of such powers as an end in itself does not have to be explained either. It’s just an extension of the same principle.”
7/11
https://thebaffler.com/salvos/whats-the-point-if-we-cant-have-fun