> The 40 hour work week ... [is] a cultural construction born from early 20th century union political efforts. This is unabashed union propaganda. Which isn't

> The 40 hour work week ... [is] a cultural construction born from early 20th century union political efforts. This is unabashed union propaganda. Which isn't to say that unions weren't involved, but there were plenty of other factors involved. I refer you to work such as The Shortening of the American Work Week: An economic and historical analysis of its context, causes, and consequences (Whaples, 1990) which place the shift in a broader context of "wages, gender, ethnicity, religion, age, urbanization, unionization, and legislation" issues, to say nothing of "industrial structure and technology". One should treat it like the pronouncement that Al Gore created the internet: definitely give the unions some credit, while taking their self-serving praise with a few grains of salt.