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This argument always seems backward to me, because the important issue with this topic isn't about the supply and demand for the floor sweeping, it's the assump
by uyholes 9y ago
This argument always seems backward to me, because the important issue with this topic isn't about the supply and demand for the floor sweeping, it's the assumption that the supply for the work of the CEO position is lacking, as opposed to restricted due to power structures or incentive for control of money.
What I mean is, yes, everyone can sweep, the compensation is lower, but there is less power also. As you move up the hierarchy, you are not only potentially going up in skill, but also in the amount of power afforded and compensation enjoyed.
Let's take a hypothetical case where all employees are equally skilled. Just for argument. Now you create positions of more and more power. By definition, there will be fewer positions of greater power, otherwise those higher positions would not have so much power. Because of the power those positions afford, there will be more competition for positions of more power, under the assumption that people want more power. Because those workers are all equally skilled, though, something other than skill must determine success in gaining those positions. And once they have those positions, they can use that power to increase their compensation relative to other employees. They can also use that power, consciously or subconsciously, to create or shape a narrative that they deserve that compensation more than others.
This is hypothetical, and reality involves something in between the "floor sweepers get paid pennies because everyone can sweep" and "CEOs are randomly assorted into positions of unlimited power" but the point is that there are properties accrued by the inherent nature of power structures, and those properties lead to inequities just as much as supply and demand of skills.
I can't believe that in the US the power structure side of reality is ignored so much in favor of the supply and demand side of reality, even when it's staring us in the face and glaringly obvious. And that you can't see society as complex and nuanced, and have to choose to be either a rabid capitalist or socialist.