Há algo nos Estados modernos que lembra o creeping featurism do software. Cada vez temos mais leis, tratando de cada vez mais assuntos.
Case in point. Retirado de https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workweek_and_weekend
Actual workweek lengths have been falling in the developed world. In the United States, the workweek length reduced slowly from before the Civil War to the start of the 20th century. There was a rapid reduction between 1900 and 1920, especially between 1913 and 1919, when weekly hours fell by about eight percent. In 1926, Henry Ford standardized on a five-day workweek, instead of the prevalent six days, without reducing employees’ pay. Hours worked stabilized at about 49 per week during the 1920s, and during the Great Depression fell below 40. During the Depression, President Herbert Hoover called for a reduction in work hours in lieu of layoffs. Later, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which established a five-day, 40-hour workweek for many workers. The proportion of people working very long weeks has since risen, and the full-time employment of women has increased dramatically.
The New Economics Foundation has recommended moving to a 21-hour standard workweek to address problems with unemployment, high carbon emissions, low well-being, entrenched inequalities, overworking, family care, and the general lack of free time. The Center for Economic and Policy Research states that reducing the length of the work week would slow climate change and have other environmental benefits.
Digamos, por hipótese, que houvesse um movimento bem-sucedido para que a semana de 40 horas fosse trocada para a semana de 21 h. Ainda que o Estado passasse uma lei neste sentido, haveria uma balbúrdia gigantesca… porque cada um dos entes federativos, da União aos municípios, teria que ajustar suas leis e normas infralegais para que seus funcionários passassem a trabalhar nestes horários reduzidos. Normas processuais — financeiras — administrativas — das áreas de educação e de saúde — trabalhistas — e por aí vai. Um nunca-acabar de normas a serem harmonizadas com o que parece ser uma mudança simples.