The whole 'hard work' thing is derived from the Protestant work-ethic of the 19th century. You work hard, and you won't go to hell. You might be poor, but you'll go to Heaven.

This attitude still prevails. People don't even think about it. Like you said, they may as well be digging holes in the desert.

If you want to be rich, you won't get rich by working hard. You've got to be smart.

I don't work that hard, I admit it. But I'm not interested in being rich. Therefore, I try to be smart—otherwise I end up poor. And I don't want that, either.

The whole work versus not working thing fascinates me, and I enjoyed this piece.

I recently wrote a piece called: Imagine If We All Did Nothing. What would happen if we all downed tools. Even for a day:

https://pjogley.medium.com/imagine-if-we-all-did-nothing-71ec6b80882