When libertarians, for example, mock France for having a 35-hour work week, they confront the question with such a pinched, narrow vision that they are unable to see the other perspective. Perhaps it is less productive, in purely mercenary terms, to have a 35 hour work week. But that only means that the French don't consider economic productivity the end-all, be-all of human existence. It only means that the French see value in having more time in the day and in the week, time to eat and sleep and relax and socialize and, you know, have fun. But once someone has decided that only productivity, the accumulation of capital, is important, there's no way to genuinely confront the issue at hand.

-L'Hôte