> I don't understand this presumably American fixation with the 40 hour week. Not just America. We have elections coming up in Saxony (a state in East Germany)

> I don't understand this presumably American fixation with the 40 hour week. Not just America. We have elections coming up in Saxony (a state in East Germany), so I watched a 2-hour interview with the current MP from the conservative party (the same party as Angela Merkel). When it came to the topic of UBI and automation, he adamantly refused to consider any policy that would move away from the 40-hour work week. He meant that there were so many challenges ahead of us, we couldn't afford to lose any of our precious working hours. His mantra seems to be "Work harder, not smarter".