Jolie,

Don't forget Japan's longstanding dominance in the field of giant reptiles as well...

I would like to note that with regard to the Japanese, at least, there are a few facts that tend to ameliorate the workaholic issue here. I speak mostly from familiarity in my own field (public education).

1) Japan has national health. If you have a job, you have health insurance, and it's decent and inclusive.

2) Culturally, extended families living together is much more common here, which assists in the burden of childcare a great deal. (Of course, having your elderly relatives in your home can lead to having to care for them to, but there are options and generally a much more supportive culture of care for all people unable to care for themselves.) When I ask my junior high school students how many people are in their family, they usually say something like 'seven' or 'six' -- Mother, Father, Grandmother, Uncle, Sister & Brother. I do live in the country, however, where homes are larger and there's a bit more room to squeeze all of those people into a house.

3) It is _much_ more common for women to stay home with their children, if they choose to have them. Japan is a bastion of sexist thought, as advanced as it is in other areas. (Primarily giant robots. But I digress.) Many women are choosing not to marry and continuing their careers. At least in my school, however, maternity leave and benefits are generous, and within my contract are stipulations for nursing mothers to have paid opportunities to go home and nurse their kids, for instance. The school is also quite flexible regarding parents who need to care for sick children.

So yes, Japanese people do work themselves to death; but there are cultural norms in place to help keep the kids from suffering. You might not ever see your child, but someone's probably looking after it.

I think that you'll find from this debate on Slate that Flanagan and Ehrenreich are pretty far apart:

http://www.slate.com/id/2095545/entry/2095648/

I've always thought of Ehrenreich as a sort of pseudo-feminist anyway, based on her moralizing diatribes about hiring domestic workers that wouldn't be out of place in a Caitlin Flanagan essay about the merits of Proper Housekeeping (as far as I know, she doesn't apply the same argument to eating in restaurants, despite her experience as a waitress in Nickel and Dimed.)