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Comment by some_account | Hacker News Reader

We choose to spend our time working?

Only because there is no other reasonable option.

This is not entirely true. Sure, if you put on yourself tons of debt, then you have to work it off. Sure, if you really need to drive that fancy car, dine in good restaurants and wear expensive status stuff just to show off (to people you probably don't really care about), it costs.

But if you travel a bit around the world, you will meet a lot of people who didn't have a proper job for a decade or more. Maybe 1 month work and 6 months travel. Or just decide to live like a hermit someplace out there, anywhere. You won't find them on instagram much, I mean the serious bunch who are honest about this, but they are out there, proving it can be done.

But it requires sacrifices in some aspects of life, which might be too much to give up for most. I know it would be too much to give up for me at this point in life.

You can chose to not have a job. There are plenty of people like this. Yes, they don't have same amount of money and conveniences, but hey hey, this is your life and you only have one. If you see yourself being fulfilled by doing something else - no one can stop you.

There's a point to that. It sort of depends on the country, the US is pretty good about having people live like it pleases them, but others are not. In Scandinavia I don't really see any good way of avoid some kind of job. There a some expenses that aren't necessarily tied to any particular living standard.

What really surprises me is that politicians (Danish in my cases), refuse to discus the idea of reducing the length of the average work week (only one party suggested it, and was laughed of a being unrealistic). You could do a lot of good moving from a 37 hour work week to 30, but no, it's dismissed with no further debate. I really think that should be the discussion: How much do we need to work. Having it being black and white, job/no-job debate isn't particularly helpful.

I know that some would argue that people can just "choose" to work less, but that's rarely an option. Very few industries allow you to choose how much you work. In terms of compensation I could be happy, financially, working only 75% of my current hours, while receiving an similar reduction in pay, but that's not something most companies find attractive.

Yes, surely it depends a lot on how developed the country is and how much social care is there. Eg in a country there is little to no social help living without any job means your life will end rather soon.

I think everyone should see where their bar is in needs vs free time and manage that. I'd love to drop 30% of my working hours and income accordingly as you said as well :) Hope this will be an option in our future.

We have this absurd combination of people that are working 40,50,60+ hours a week when some of them might prefer less, and people cant find any work so they are stuck at 0 hours a week.

Unless you are slave or prisoner, yes, we choose to spend our time working or non-working.

Which universe do you live in?

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