shiftlessness

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to give me your considered opinion concerning the usage of the noun in bold in the following sentence?

There is too much shiftlessness in England nowadays. People who have no means of existence get bad ideas.

V.

[Rover_KE]

Did you write this yourself, vil, or did you read it somewhere?

Given that shiftlessness means idleness or lack of ambition, the second sentence is a non-sequitur.

Everybody in England nowadays has some 'means of existence'.

Rover

[vil]

Hi Rover KE,

Did you write this yourself, vil, or did you read it somewhere?

As far as know, I amonly an ardent reader and a might-have-been student. I make no pretence to be a writer.

I hope, I have right to look round now and then, as well as to have right attitude towards happenings round about, to take up a critical attitudes towards some of them, and to put into words my point of view. It makes little difference whether you have a liking for it or not.

Look about what is happening in the old, good England nowadays.

In my humble opinion some 'means of existence' doesn’t mean “sufficient means of existence”.

shiftlessness 1. lacking in resourcefulness ; inefficient 2. lacking in ambition or incentive ; lazy 3. irresponsibility

V.