In the familiar story of Mary and Martha, I think that most of us relate to the hard working Martha. In an article I read this week in the paper, it was reported that Americans work more hours per year than any other major industrial nation. The Germans work an annual average of 1,421 hours per year, the French 1,564, the Japanese 1,784, and Americans 1,804. All of these nations have cut their annual hours by 16 to 20 percent over the last 40 years. The exception is the United States, which has remained more or less static.

This is not a recent phenomenon. As long ago as 1840, Alexis de Tocqueville wrote of the "feverish ardor" with which "Americans pursue their own welfare," and "this strange unrest of so many happy men, restless in the midst of abundance" (Bk 2, chp. 13). A recent academic paper from professors from the University of Texas and the University of Michigan argues that working long hours for many may be "an addiction, akin to alcoholism and smoking." The paper is titled "The Economics of Workaholism." The guilty subtitle is "We should not Have Worked on this Paper."