For a right to laziness!

From Fabien Roussel to Edouard Philippe via François Ruffin and, of course, Emmanuel Macron, the battle for “work value” is in full swing. The communists claim its emancipatory virtues, the classic liberal right makes it the spur of progress, and the technopositivists in power see it as the only way to safeguard public accounts. The stakes are indeed high: the whole of our social system, from the calculation of pensions to the conditions for payment of allowances, is now based on the search for employment.

Faced with this union of workers from all parties, a divergent voice was heard, that of our favorite public accuser, Sandrine Rousseau, demanding a “right to laziness”. It would be easy to laugh about it. At the time of the “great resignation” or, more modestly, of the “quiet quitting”, the right to laziness nevertheless deserves consideration.