In France, commercial activity happens from Monday through Saturday, not on Sunday. Some people wish to change this, but many do not.
A little lesson on capitalism. A number of consumers want to consume on Sunday; a number of workers agree or would agree to work that day: the freedom of economic agents leads to authorizing work on Sunday. Such is - beyond all the rhetoric about “the end of hypocrisy” or the “necessities of tourism” - the essence of the government’s argument.
Three Questions
1) “In a balanced society, must the freedom of economic agents overcome every other consideration?” [Laurent Joffrin]
2) About how much time should a person spend making a living (i.e. growing food, or working at a job) compared to other aspects of life (i.e. family activities, worship, relaxation)?
3) What steps can we take to create balance among the different aspects of a healthy lifestyle, both for individuals and for society as a whole?
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Janet Callahan 07.12.09 at 7:57 am
I know a number of small business owners who close their stores on, say, Monday and Tuesday, rather than the somewhat typical Saturday and Sunday. The benefit to them is having a day when most “normal” people are working to get things done without interfering with their business - few doctors have weekend hours, few contractors do home repairs then either. And it still allows them to have weekend hours for customers who are working during the rest of the week.
I think there’s a balance to be had - yes, everyone should be able to take time off from work. But that also assumes that everyone makes enough money to pay their bills and buy groceries and so on.
I also wonder about the choice of days off - if the day off was, for example, Wednesday, would there be the same uproar? Or is it like the small country town I used to live in where people were horrified about businesses being open on Sunday, because it interfered with going to church (and the assumption was that everyone was Christian).
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Elizabeth Barrette Reply:
July 12th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
I know a number of small business owners who close their stores on, say, Monday and Tuesday, rather than the somewhat typical Saturday and Sunday.
That sounds very practical.
But that also assumes that everyone makes enough money to pay their bills and buy groceries and so on.
Yes. I think that everyone should make enough to live on doing 6 days — or preferably 5 days — of reasonable work per week. Nobody should have to work every day with no time off; it’s destructive to the body and mind.
Or is it like the small country town I used to live in where people were horrified about businesses being open on Sunday, because it interfered with going to church (and the assumption was that everyone was Christian).
I suspect it’s the timing, as you say.
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TheGhost 07.12.09 at 1:08 pm
I think that is a practical idea to be open on weekends and then take a day off on regular days.
I mean yes a large part of the day is wasted. Only a few people drop by because their busy in the office.
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Elizabeth Barrette Reply:
July 12th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
I mean yes a large part of the day is wasted. Only a few people drop by because their busy in the office.
It depends on the business, I think — most have slow times, but not the same slow times for all kinds of business.
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Hicham 07.13.09 at 6:03 am
Markters are getting more anxious to sell whatever they have to people even if this can lead to distory the ‘balance’ between buying stuff and enjoying your week-end away from crushing to buy things.
Elizabith, it’s strange how they are not aware about the meaning of a ‘week-end’ that you take a rest from everything but resting!
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Elizabeth Barrette Reply:
July 13th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
Yes, I think marketers are getting desperate to sell stuff to people whether they need it or not. It does damage the balance. Also, many people have a hard time finding a job that will really support them, so they take multiple jobs or work lots of overtime, and it runs them into the ground. They lose sight of things that are not “work.”
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d-thinker 07.15.09 at 12:40 am
I guess it is also about balance at work, and home, not just the balance of home and work.
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Elizabeth Barrette Reply:
July 15th, 2009 at 1:27 am
Yes, the idea is to balance all the important aspects of life.
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