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You're right, but there is a large group of people who refuse to believe that employment is a functioning market like any other where a resource is bought and s
by nickff 11y ago
You're right, but there is a large group of people who refuse to believe that employment is a functioning market like any other where a resource is bought and sold according to factors including scarcity, difficulty, and pleasantness. For these people, it is easier to describe employment negotiations in terms of exploitation, 'taking advantage', bribery, and power, than to acknowledge it is essentially the same as a business to business negotiation.
- tonyedgecombe 11y agoExcept it isn't like every other market because most people don't have a choice not to work, whereas they do have a choice not to buy a TV, phone, bigger house, etc. Employers will exploit this fact and take advantage of people desperate to keep their job.
- huac 11y agoThe market value of your time and energy is not well-defined, while the company has aggregated data so they can better price the value of '1 hour on Friday night' versus '1 hour on Tuesday afternoon'. This information asymmetry is not present when I go to the grocery store, especially with apps that can compare the price of an apple at Safeway vs Market Basket. In technical terms, there should exist an intersection between your marginal propensity to spend and your marginal utility of leisure (i.e. not working). But if you can't determine your fair 'value' when working shitty hours, then your 'calculations' can't be correct.
- AnimalMuppet 11y agoNo. But they have a choice to work elsewhere. Push them hard enough (like forcing them to take shifts that they hate), and they will take that choice.
- littletimmy 11y agoYes. But they do not have a choice not to work. That means that capitalists can collude to drive wages down to unhealthy levels. Even Adam Smith warned us against this and advised the state step in to help the worker.
- toomuchtodo 11y agoWhich is why a proper minimum wage set forth by government is required.
- dasil003 11y agoI don't see those two ideas as incompatible in the least. Negotiation is all about power dynamics. A functioning market is amoral, whether something is a simple transaction or exploitation can only be judged in context. As technology continues enabling the replacement of labor with capital, the free market worshippers would be well-advised to come to terms with that nuance.