Mixed Feelings About the 4-Hour Work Week

I read this post (https://aninjusticemag.com/were-all-paying-for-someone-else-s-4-hour-work-week-not-ours-68b2168af55), and while I don't really agree, it did get me thinking.

I think you've perhaps missed the bigger picture of what this world needs, and I don't believe it's because you're not smart enough to see that.

Now, that's a very random and sort of confrontational thing to say to someone who I've never met, spoken to, or even shared a cup of coffee, especially in the context of a lot of your recent work, in which you strike me as relentlessly benevolent, thoughtful, and interactive.

So, please let me explain, and I'll try to be as brief as possible.

I'll say it flat out: I feel a certain disdain for your career. I think you're smart and very opportunistic. Kudos for that. But, in a way you've also inspired a generation of leaches & otherwise promoted a lot of FOMO and selfishness by espousing the philosophy laid out in the 4-hour workweek.

To be clear, I don't think that following that philosophy to buy more time to do better things is bad, per se. But I don't think that's how people spend the extra time in their days if they follow your advice; this world has a lot of problems and they won't be solved if every person is focused on gaming the system and otherwise dancing or reaching physical or philosophical perfection. And I don' think it's okay to ignore it. On the contrary, I find it incredibly irresponsible.

So, there's a lot I could say, but suffice it, for now, to say that I think you're smarter than the smarts you've used to build your platform. In my opinion, you have a moral obligation to caveat your whole ethos with that fact - that we all have a certain responsibility to fix it, and not just for ourselves or our families. And in fact, if you succeed at self-perfection without achieving it for others, you've failed more spectacularly than if you'd done nothing at all.