verylong

We seem to be moving the opposite direction: fewer people working longer hours. It is part a consequence of the fact that there are fixed costs per employee which make it more cost effective to have one employee work 80 hours a week than have 2 employees work 40 hours a week each. It is also the case that more jobs require extensive training, skills and experience that are scarce. I don't society should encourage anyone who spent 20 years learning something useful in school (e.g., surgeons) to work only 6 hours a day ...

I think these kinds of articles miss the point. Colleges and employers choose admission and hiring criteria specifically to favor the upper class. This isn't out of malice, and for the most part I think it is unintentional. The people at the top simple favor other people who are like them --- just as all of us do.

If lower class kids started excelling at the sort of social activities and extracurricular activities which help one get ahead, the criteria will wind up changing. Again, not out of malice or spite. Its simply a function of human nature to form groups and favor those from your group.