> and work on a tenuous 19th century narrative where job seekers were essentially beggars going hat in hand for a wage in exchange for exploited labour. ...Exc

> and work on a tenuous 19th century narrative where job seekers were essentially beggars going hat in hand for a wage in exchange for exploited labour. ...Except that is still more or less the case for the vast majority of workers. Most employers won't even wait for you to finish your negotiation spiel before kicking you out and moving onto the next applicant. Most people, at least in the US (which is seemingly the focus), are not working in an industry where workers have any real room for negotiation. You might be able to get a dollar or two per hour more if you really impress the hiring manager, but that's not happening for the $10/hr kinds of jobs that so many people work. And if you try to squeeze the employer for more, they probably have a stack of applications many of whom will take whatever the employer gives them because their alternative is getting paid nothing at all.