“Hard work” is one of the cultural norms that the Puritans instilled in our society. Our ancestors fought hard to form labor unions and to guarantee that we wouldn’t have to work 80-hour weeks, and yet here we are.
Not to say that people in other countries don’t work hard. They do. Many work harder than their counterparts in the US. But their governments have (very reasonable) limits on the amount of time their employers can expect them to work. (As well as minimums for time off, sick leave, etc.)
It’s a weird holdover of American culture that spending too much time at work and putting the company’s needs before your own is somehow virtuous.
It’s capitalist propaganda pushed across our media and culture. The whole bootstraps myth is tied up in all of American culture. It’s always been bull shit propagated by the owner class.
“Hard work” is one of the cultural norms that the Puritans instilled in our society. Our ancestors fought hard to form labor unions and to guarantee that we wouldn’t have to work 80-hour weeks, and yet here we are.
Not to say that people in other countries don’t work hard. They do. Many work harder than their counterparts in the US. But their governments have (very reasonable) limits on the amount of time their employers can expect them to work. (As well as minimums for time off, sick leave, etc.)
It’s a weird holdover of American culture that spending too much time at work and putting the company’s needs before your own is somehow virtuous.
It’s capitalist propaganda pushed across our media and culture. The whole bootstraps myth is tied up in all of American culture. It’s always been bull shit propagated by the owner class.