Melanie wrote:
> With all the protests by businesses (and the threats to
lay off staff)
> against the 35 hour work week, its implementation next
year seems
> shaky. Analysts say that France is going against the
trend in the rest
> of Europe to part-time and temporary employment and will
not be able to
> compete. What do you people think about the potential of
the 35 hour
> week for paid permanent employment? Who is still
advocating it and
> where?
All these ideas to spread work around by law or regulation
are doomed to failure.
There is plenty of work to be done. More important is the
ability to choose to work or not.
We use as our definition of poverty in our high school
economic courses - poverty is when you can't take a month
off without pay whenever you like.
A basic assumption of classical political economy (what
economics was before it became ridiculous) is that:
"People's desires are unlimited."
If this is true - and it isn't easy to find an exception -
even if we all work 24 hours a day - we couldn't satisfy our
unlimited desires.
As Henry George said in his typically cogent fashion: "Why
are people looking for jobs? Why aren't jobs looking for
people?"
We should answer that, rather than chase after unworkable
palliatives such as job-sharing.
Harry
