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It worked fine in France, ended up raising the overall productivity of their economy. France now has a higher standard of living than the US, so it might be wor

It worked fine in France, ended up raising the overall productivity of their economy. France now has a higher standard of living than the US, so it might be worth looking at what they're doing right.

rgraham 13y ago
By what measure? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Deve... Also, a single number will be misleading. France has fewer immigrants and thus a different cultural structure. It also has very different neighbors and trade partners. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_foreign-born_population http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_foreign-bo... "I think you need a lot of context to seriously examine anything." -- The Wire, Season 5
mattlutze 13y ago
Legislatively-prescribed limits like this on work, for me, would be too statist. Now, I very much believe in the spirit of the concept. Bertrand Russell hit the nail: http://www.zpub.com/notes/idle.html http://www.zpub.com/notes/idle.html But through legislation, no. It needs to be a culturally grown movement. Also, the US has a higher Human Development Index rating than France: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Deve... and on whatever the Legatum Prosperity Index is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legatum_Prosperity_Index http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legatum_Prosperity_Index and Germany's OECD's Better Life Index (using the "weigh all of these equally" measure): http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/#11111111111 http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/#11111111111 I would argue that standard of living is higher in the US.
mattlutze 13y ago
Also, this just happened: http://news.yahoo.com/p-downgrades-france-credit-rating-aa-063942307.html http://news.yahoo.com/p-downgrades-france-credit-rating-aa-0...

It worked fine in France, ended up raising the overall productivity of their economy. France now has a higher standard of living than the US, so it might be worth looking at what they're doing right.

rgraham 13y ago

By what measure? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Deve... Also, a single number will be misleading. France has fewer immigrants and thus a different cultural structure. It also has very different neighbors and trade partners. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_foreign-born_population http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_foreign-bo... "I think you need a lot of context to seriously examine anything." -- The Wire, Season 5

mattlutze 13y ago

Legislatively-prescribed limits like this on work, for me, would be too statist. Now, I very much believe in the spirit of the concept. Bertrand Russell hit the nail: http://www.zpub.com/notes/idle.html http://www.zpub.com/notes/idle.html But through legislation, no. It needs to be a culturally grown movement. Also, the US has a higher Human Development Index rating than France: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Deve... and on whatever the Legatum Prosperity Index is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legatum_Prosperity_Index http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legatum_Prosperity_Index and Germany's OECD's Better Life Index (using the "weigh all of these equally" measure): http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/#11111111111 http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/#11111111111 I would argue that standard of living is higher in the US.

mattlutze 13y ago

Also, this just happened: http://news.yahoo.com/p-downgrades-france-credit-rating-aa-063942307.html http://news.yahoo.com/p-downgrades-france-credit-rating-aa-0...