The premise of the Four Hour Day is real simple - we all are working too hard. We are giving up our one wild and precious life in to chase economic success, only to find that our large TVs and new vehicles really aren’t making us happy. We take our own busyness as evidence that we are being productive and useful, when too often we’re just tiring ourselves out enough to ignore those gnawing doubts.

Why are we doing this to ourselves? What good is it doing? Will we be happier if sales increase, if production is up?

The Four Hour Day is a dream of an intentional society, where we can agree about how we want to use our time and resources and energies. It’s a calm suggestion that things don’t really have to be this way. And it’s a strong statement of hope for the future of our species.