Losing one's job is a psychological as well as an economic blow, but as demonstrated by the Kellogg experience, a cutback in hours can have positive benefits. Would it be so terrible if people in this country had to buy less stuff than they've been buying? Many of us, like those in the 1930s, would benefit from consumer downsizing.
It's not likely that all those Kellogg workers spent their extra 10 hours a week on self-enrichment and civic-improvement projects. But with reduced income, they had to find things to do outside the consumer culture, whether it was going to the library or starting family canning projects. The reduced hours and reduced income helped to enrich their lives.
As Thoreau put it, "Most of the luxuries, and many of the so-called comforts of life, are ... positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind." In this current recession, it might be well to heed those words.
