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Thursday, May 28, 2015

The True Reason behind the 40-Hour Work Week and Why We Are Economic Slaves

Economic slavery, or wage slavery, refers to one’s total and immediate dependence on wages to survive. Although people throughout history have had to work to get by, we now live in a culture where we are led to believe we have economic freedom, when unbeknownst to most citizens, we are in fact bound in servitude. We automatically accept a 40-hour workweek with meager hourly pay as normal, even though many work overtime and still struggle to survive. There are also those who make enough to live comfortably but are unable to request less hours—you either work 40 hours a week, or you don’t get to work at all. We submit when told what to wear, when we have to arrive and depart, when we’re allowed to eat, and even when we’re allowed to use the restroom. How is it we have come to allow this?

The 40-hour-work week came about during the Industrial Revolution in Britain when at one point workers were putting in 10 to 16 hour days and began to protest. Working situations for Americans began to worsen as well, and by 1836, labor movement publications were also calling for a 40-hour workweek. Citizens in both situations were so overworked, an eight-hour day was easily accepted. This system is unnecessary now, if it ever was, but we still accept it due to the effects of our capitalist society.

There are many contributing factors that have led to our current economic system and continued acceptance of the 40-hour workweek, three major factors being consumerism, inflation, and debt. First, it’s important to understand exactly what inflation is, how it works, and how it leads to debt.

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4 comments:

  1. A full scale economic collapse is all that can happen now to fix the problem. This country will be plunged into REAL disparity before the sheeple wake up and wonder what happened. Many will perish, lets call it a "cleansing."

    ReplyDelete
  2. umm i thought it was 8 hours work. 8 hours family, 8 hours sleep

    ReplyDelete
  3. So, now it's a 29 hour week with no hourly raise, so we are poorer. Unless we get a second job that the hours reciprocate. But then, we now have to buy our own insurance at double prices, so we are still poorer.

    Tick.

    Tock...

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is the ideal way to keep the peons in their place.A very intelligent design indeed!

    ReplyDelete

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