Re. work hours; Right, the Industrial Revolution had quite many work hours, possibly even "peak" hours for some regions, particularly central Europe and the US.

Re. work hours; Right, the Industrial Revolution had quite many work hours, possibly even "peak" hours for some regions, particularly central Europe and the US. However, prior to that, research says "we" worked less than "we" do today [1]. But yes, 1880s were probably peak "worst-time", apart from some notorious companies today :-). And, work-hours should be compared and considered globally, not just the niceties that are found in some parts of Europe, maybe. I think many industrial (slave-) workers in Asian countries like China can be assumed to work far more than what they did when they were farmers or hunter-gatherers or whatever prior society they had, and probably work even more than the workers of the Industrial Revolution, too. So I really think you are comparing German and French minimalist work hours to the "Western-world" worst case, the Industrial Revolution ~150 years ago, without actually contemplating either a global view or considering other times. Re. being happier; Again, if you try to look back more than 100-200 years ago, things seem to have been quite different otherwise. Just take the Greek philosophers, for examples. They would not have flourished without "time to think", one might argue. Also, is that modern slave-worker in a Chinese factory really happier than his great grandfather was 100 ago? Thinking globally, I think there is enough evidence we might be unhappier than ever - mostly, thanks to globalization... [1] https://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/users/rauch/worktime/hours_workweek.html https://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/users/rauch/worktime/hours_...