Tom Friedman's Hatred of Workers

The disdainful contempt with which New York Times columnist Tom Friedman looks at average people is really stunning. His newest column should be seen as an absolute insult to ordinary working people everywhere.

That may sound surprising, considering his piece is on Europe. But just look at what he says. He chastises the French for "trying to preserve a 35-hour work week in a world where Indian engineers are ready to work a 35-hour day." He says that trying to preserve that work week means Europeans are "los[ing] their appetite for hard work." Essentially, he's saying that Europeans are lazy because their people support workers' rights.

Look, I have my problems with the Europeans - but that's not what this is about. In this column, Friedman's total insulation from the tribulations of hard working people - and his hatred for ordinary workers - really comes into relief. Because places like China and India have little worker protections, he is saying the industrialized world has to follow suit, or their people are lazy. If Friedman were around at the turn of the century, you could well imagine that we'd be reading columns of his where he criticizes American workers for pushing laws that outlaw sweatshops or child labor, and created the 40-hour work week and the weekend.

Friedman may call his column "Race to the Top" - but what he's describing in no uncertain terms is a race to the bottom. I'd like to see him work 70 hours a week at a minimum wage job while trying to balance family needs, and then see whether his attitude might change a bit from the well-paid confines of his cushy job as a columnist.