In our civilized societies we are rich. Why then are the many poor? Why this painful drudgery for the masses? Why, even to the best-paid workman, this uncertainty for the morrow, in the midst of all the wealth inherited from the past, and in spite of the powerful means of production, which could ensure comfort to all, in return for a few hours daily toil? - Peter Kropotkin (1892)
I mean, your associated quote does very much advocate trading hours of your time just to survive, so I’m not really sure how to reconcile it with your caption on the image.
The key word in the post is “selling”. Under capitalism, our labor/time becomes a commodity that we sell to the highest bidder (i.e., the capitalist). We do not own what we produce, nor do we own the means to produce goods efficiently. So we must sell ourselves–in the form of wages–by the hour/year in order to secure the the material needs of our existence. We are institutionally coerced. Whoever does not sell themselves cannot have food, clothing, shelter–even though we produce more than enough to go around.
In the 19th century, Kropotkin noticed that technological advances have made it possible to secure everyone’s needs. In this quote, we see that the the rise of machines (“means of production”) will “ensure comfort to all” for the price of “a few hours daily toil”. (See: The Conquest of Bread for more.) Yes, back in 1892, Kropotkin thought we would only need to work four hours a day to produce enough food, water, shelter, housing, etc. for everyone. The key, say Kropotkin, is that we must use these technological advances to produce the things we need rather than to make a few people unimaginably wealthy. Accordingly, we no longer need to sell our selves to those who take the bulk of the value we produce as their own profit; and there is no reason that anyone should go hungry, thirsty, or homeless in the present day.
No it doesn’t? It’s clearly criticizing the system that requires such a trade.