Institutionalising & Glorifying Slavery

The 21st Century phenomenon of accepting & hailing working hours beyond that mandated by International Labour Organisation has reached alarming heights. Work/Life Balance has become a dirty word, not even to be breathed during the hiring process.

In fact this is putting the clock back to the early days of industrial revolution, when 16 hour work days were common, even for children. Enlightened Europe has moved forward to 35-40 hours/week, with stringent penalties for employers who call employees by phone outside work hours.

As for the specious argument that it is all for "nation building", the rise & fall of nations is a cyclic phenomenon. The Romans were great (because of slavery) & later declined & fell as recounted by Gibbon. Of course, all this can be known only by those who have the leisure to read Gibbon. Hitler's 1000 years Third Reich also bit the dust. 

Actually corporate work culture is worse than slavery because it costs money to replace slaves, whereas in a free capitalist market, new labour can be hired for the asking.

From a pragmatic view, work is not a basic necessity like food, clothing & shelter. Employment is sought only to get money. Inherited wealth makes work redundant. Even now one can find modest jobs with decent working conditions.

The bitter irony is that instead of feeling ashamed of being used like slaves, without leisure to lead a civilised, cultured, cultivated life, people are feeling important because of an illusion that they are doing great work, with no time for any thing else, boosting their fragile little egos. Greed may also be a factor as well as the common belief that more money = more happiness.

It may be cogent here to mention that working for a living was considered shameful in the Regency era of Jane Austen's world. In her "Persuasion", Sir Walter Eliott had nothing but contempt for those who had to work for a living. When he had to rent out his house for economic reasons, to an Admiral of the Navy, no less, he was highly distraught. Even surgeons were very low in the social scale. Even during Queen Elizabeth II's reign, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was always referred to by the Royals as "that grocer's daughter."!

The sane thing to understand is that work alone is not the "raison d'etre" of human existence & man does not live by bread alone. A human being has need of active sport & cultural activities to differentiate him from mere animals. The sooner this is understood & man is allowed to regain his humanity, the better.