Good Short-Time Work for All

Abstract

This paper advances three arguments. First, current working-time patterns are destructive of justice, especially in terms of environmental sustainability, gender equality, and personal autonomy. Second, making fundamental progress towards these goals requires secure, quality, short-time work for all. This refers to an economic system that would guarantee everyone a decent, secure, existence at roughly 30 hours or less of market work, as well as actively discouraging longer hours. This discouragement should take the form of “soft” state policies as well as new cultural norms; it should not take “hard” forms of state violence. Third, liberal proceduralists are wrong to believe that individuals should be free from state regulation to simply choose the amount of work/leisure that they see fit, since doing so creates all kinds of harms for other people. In fact, the state should actively disincentivize long work hours in order to augment social justice.