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Because he didn't have a choice. If he could trade this vacation for more food, medication for his children, or many other resources, he gladly would - but I do
by golergka 9y ago
Because he didn't have a choice. If he could trade this vacation for more food, medication for his children, or many other resources, he gladly would - but I don't think that as a peasant in the winter you really could make anything out of your time without a capitalist society and other jobs.
All modern people have a choice about how much time they spend at their jobs. I've switched to 3-day workweek sometimes, raking 50% cut in salary; turns out, if you're not in a leading position, it's painfully obvious to negotiate. People in first world countries don't need to work 40 hours a week to avoid starvation. We do it out of our own free will, because we want more stuff.
And, out of this personal experience - because we don't really have anything better to do with our time. Even a regular, a bit boring job beats sitting around the house and watching TV. Driving your own personal projects requires a significant amount of motivation and willpower, and most of us would be too ashamed to admit that we lack it.
- emodendroket 9y agoI don't think it's true that peasants would have worked more if given the option, nor that most people have a realistic option to negotiate to work less hours today.
- stupidcar 9y agoBy "all modern people", you apparently mean the relatively small group of middle-class professionals who can earn a decent salary on a shorter working week, and are in a position to negotiate it. There is a far larger group of people working in low-skilled jobs whose entire salary is not enough to cover their outgoings, and must also rely on consumer debt and government assistance to support themselves and their families (think Walmart workers on foodstamps). What's more, the balance of power with their employer is such that they have absolutely no leverage to negotiate shorter working hours, even if they wanted to. A low-skilled worker is expected to be at the beck and call of their employer up to, and often beyond, the legal limit of work. When you can be fired from a job you've held for years for being 30 seconds late, you're not going to get far asking to work two less days a week. It's nice that you were able to arrange an easier lifestyle for yourself, but don't mistake your privileged situation for the norm.
- emodendroket 9y agoDon't forget health insurance.
- maxerickson 9y agoMost people working at Walmart would like to negotiate longer working hours.
- maxxxxx 9y agoThey probably would prefer higher wages.
- maxerickson 9y agoBoth. Wages first of course. But plenty of people don't want to be limited to part time hours.
- emodendroket 9y agoRight, but if you could have health insurance and a decent standard of living while working part-time, who's to say that would still be the case? That's so far from the world we live in that it is hard to imagine it.