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"Have you considered that labor laws protect workers, and workers who are happy and feel safe and not exploited are more productive?" I remember reading an int

"Have you considered that labor laws protect workers, and workers who are happy and feel safe and not exploited are more productive?" I remember reading an interview with Stephane Israel, the director of Arianespace, who complained that with a leisurely 35-hour workweek, they have no chance competing with workaholics at SpaceX. While it would be a much nicer world if you were right, I am not sure you are. East Asians work even more and they seem to be overtaking the Western Civilization lately.

jackcosgrove 3y ago
> East Asians work even more and they seem to be overtaking the Western Civilization lately. I think East Asian working culture is pushing the limits of human physiology and psychology. I've seen documentaries on South Korean work culture, for example, where people consistently receive less sleep than is healthy because they work so much. To use the example of Korea again, their work culture is probably contributing to the low birthrate which is ultimately counterproductive. There's a vignette I've heard about a movie theater. Imagine someone in the front of the theater stands up to get a better view. The person behind them then needs to stand up to maintain the same view. Eventually everyone is standing up, with the same view as before and more uncomfortable than when they were sitting. It's an analogy for heavy work cultures, which can be counterproductive and unnecessary after a certain point. Could French work culture be more productive than American, or Korean, work culture? I don't know, but it's not simply a matter of measuring short term outputs and ignoring externalities such as rates of depression, alienation, poor health, or low birthrates.
rightbyte 3y ago
I value not working way more than raising the GDP. It is not a competition for first place where you will receive some kind of medal from Wikipedia.

jackcosgrove 3y ago

> East Asians work even more and they seem to be overtaking the Western Civilization lately. I think East Asian working culture is pushing the limits of human physiology and psychology. I've seen documentaries on South Korean work culture, for example, where people consistently receive less sleep than is healthy because they work so much. To use the example of Korea again, their work culture is probably contributing to the low birthrate which is ultimately counterproductive. There's a vignette I've heard about a movie theater. Imagine someone in the front of the theater stands up to get a better view. The person behind them then needs to stand up to maintain the same view. Eventually everyone is standing up, with the same view as before and more uncomfortable than when they were sitting. It's an analogy for heavy work cultures, which can be counterproductive and unnecessary after a certain point. Could French work culture be more productive than American, or Korean, work culture? I don't know, but it's not simply a matter of measuring short term outputs and ignoring externalities such as rates of depression, alienation, poor health, or low birthrates.

rightbyte 3y ago

I value not working way more than raising the GDP. It is not a competition for first place where you will receive some kind of medal from Wikipedia.