Yeah, Russell is the quintessential British liberal, hence the disdain for the working class in all his work. But he does get at the irrationality of capitalism here where the goal is simply to maximize profit with no regard for anything else. I also very much agree with your point that overwork turns people into zombies.

My view is that required work should be minimized as much as possible, and people should have the ability to choose how they spend their time.

Also agree that’s precisely how religion is being used right now, hopefully that fails.