The Interplay of Work and Doing Nothing

In light of my recent post on Americans and their hesitancy in using up all of their vacation time, Orly Lobel of PrawfsBlawg fame writes to tell us "about a recent post she did about a new book on work ethic and doing nothing -  a cultural history of their interplay."

Here are some excerpts from that post:

As Oscar Wilde said, “to do nothing is the most difficult thing in the world.” Now English professor Tom Lutz has written a book – Doing Nothing: A History of Loafers, Loungers, Slackers and Bums in America. The book is a cultural history of the tensions between work ethics and idle impulses.

It includes case studies that unfold the interplay of the competing models of hard workers and slackers, ranging from the Industrial Revolution through the dotcom '90s . . . .Weaving it all together, the book actually makes you think differently not only on the art of resting, but perhaps more so on norms of production, productivity and work. Now that’s hard work!

PS