the world as we have been imagining fit, economic fear and most economic hope will be alike removed out of life. No one will be haunted by the dread of poverty or driven into ruthlessness by the hope of wealth. There will not be the distinction of social classes which now plays such an immense part in life. The unsuccessful professional man will not live in terror lest his children should sink in the scale; the aspiring employe will not be looking forward to the day when he can become a sweater in his turn. Ambitious young men will have to dream other daydreams than that of business success and wealth wrung out of the ruin of competitors and the degradation of labor…

Proposed Roads To Freedom, Bertrand Russel

You are spot on—the word “sweater” in this context has nothing to do with clothing. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a “sweater” was a slang term for an exploitative employer who ran a “sweatshop.”
When Russell writes that the employee “will not be looking forward to the day when he can become a sweater in his turn,” he is describing a cycle of exploitation.
1. The Etymology of “Sweater”
The term comes from the “sweating system.” In this system:
* A middleman (the “sweater”) would take a contract for work (usually garment making).
* He would then sub-contract the work to laborers who worked in cramped, poorly ventilated rooms for extremely low wages.
* The “sweater” made his profit by “sweating” the labor out of his workers—pushing them to their physical limits for the highest possible output at the lowest possible cost.
2. The Social Cycle Russell Despises
Russell is pointing out a dark psychological reality of Capitalism in 1918: the only way for a “lowly” employee to find freedom was to climb the ladder until they became the ones doing the exploiting.
* The “ambition” of the worker was not to end the system, but to change places with the master.
* Russell wants a society where the “daydreams” of young men shift from domination (becoming a sweater) to creation (the “life of the mind”).
The Evolution of the Term
| Era | Meaning of “Sweater” |
|—|—|
| 1850–1920 | An employer who exploits workers (the “Sweating System”). |
| 1920–Present | Primarily used for a knitted garment (originally called “sweaters” because athletes wore them to work up a sweat). |
| Modern Context | We now use the term “Sweatshop” to describe the place, but we have lost the term “Sweater” for the person in charge. |
Why Russell chooses this word
By using “sweater,” Russell is highlighting the ruthlessness he mentions in the same paragraph. In a world of “economic fear,” people are driven to be cruel because they believe it is the only way to avoid poverty. He is imagining a world where, because your basic needs are met (through UBI or Socialism), you no longer have a rational reason to “sweat” your fellow man for profit.