Re:Pre-industrial workers had a shorter workweek than today'...
by notahacker on Saturday October 30, 2021 @03:13PM
(#29051510)
We could start by looking at their equivalents in developing countries. In many respects, they have it better than medieval peasants. They can obtain tools made by machines rather than days of artisan labour, have electric light in the evenings, usually have some level of education and access to some and the harvests aren't any more arduous. And yet curiously, the leisure time they get isn't widely envied, not necessarily even by the people who left the village for jobs in sweatshops...
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Re:Pre-industrial workers had a shorter workweek than today'...
by ajuc on Saturday October 30, 2021 @04:18PM
(#29051985)
> and the harvests aren't any more arduous
they are, in some ways. Efficiency gains can mean you work less, but they more often mean you have less people doing the same work. Back then one peasant had much less land to cultivate, a third of all fields were fallowed each year, and 90% of the population worked in farming. Now it's more like 10% and in some countries even less than that.
The problem with being a peasant wasn't the hard work - it was the constant risk of starvation or sickness killing you and your family. So they optimized for lowering the risks instead of optimizing for better profits or more free time.
> even by the people who left the village for jobs in sweatshops
Sweatshops are harder work but less risks than farming.