When I read these things I sometimes get this sense that there is this feeling of "superiority" with respect to leisure and family time from Europeans. I can't help but constantly think about how a lot of European countries got to this point because of the mass subjugation of other humans (think Africa and the Caribbean). For example, the current crisis in Haiti makes me think of the Haitian Independence Debt[0]. Sometimes I feel like a lot of the West is like a trust fund baby, where we live off the hard and dirty work of our parents, and turn a blind eye to the mass destruction of the earth and the countless millions of peoples lives who, even to this day, we take advantage of.

So I'm very glad the French can get 2 hours in the middle of the day to hang out and eat home cooked meals, while the earth slowly starts to boil around them, and while millions of people still suffer to this day because of actions their country has taken in the recent past.

I'm not saying that I don't believe humans should have more family time, more leisure time, and a better quality of life; but I do feel like we haven't done anything yet as a greater society to earn that right yet, as almost everything our foundation is built on seems incredibly unsustainable, and still needs a lot of work and thought put into it to get us there.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiti_Independence_Debt