We already saw what happens when people are free to negotiate for themselves with people who possess most of the money and resources. People including children were working 60 hours a week in horrendously unsafe conditions for barely enough to live.

The government isn't an interloper inserting itself. The government is US. We are negotiating with employers in a fashion where we actually possess enough influence to make a difference.

Yes I do mean exactly that. It's entirely possible for both these things to be true:

- Everyone believes that if they and everyone else had a 32 hour work week, they'd be happier

- Everyone stays at 40 hours per week when given the choice of independently moving to a 32 hour work week due to social / economic pressures

In this case a government law helps everyone coordinate to get out of a local maximum.

They are free to negotiate their freedoms away.

What I have never understood so far, is that all the advocates of markets simply declare them free, as if reducing government involvement is going to solve inherent imbalances in power. The end result is branded "free market" when it is anything but.