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I first bumped into Hanauer via his TED talk.
The thing is, while he is a breath of fresh air, he doesn’t show how to fix this mess, either. He’s of the “reform it, don’t end it” school, which is preferable to the current mode, but still falls waaay short.
In reality, in a properly functioning, moral, humane, sustainable economy, no one should ever be able to accrue vast fortunes — even if their purpose is to someday give it all away to charity. And if employers paid employees fair wages, they couldn’t. It’s mathematically impossible. Vast fortunes are only possible because of the massive difference between workers’ pay and the value of their production. The massive difference comes from unpaid labor, essentially. Close that gap, match up surplus value with wages, end the legal practice of unpaid labor, and no capitalist can make his or her personal fortune.
Another key. Watch any movie about the rich. Think about their interactions with all “the little people” along the way . . . the waiters, maids, go-fers, taxi drivers, bellhops, etc. etc. . . . the armies of the seen and unseen “downstairs” folk. Ask yourself how long rich people would keep their vast hoardings if they had to pay fair wages to all of these people they interact with.
Our system is set up to make life very, very nice for the wealthy, all across the board, 24/7, in millions of ways, big and small . . . . not only because they can legally treat their own employees like slaves, but everyone else’s, too. Extreme wage suppression is a part of the woodwork, and it’s what keeps the rich rich — in myriad ways. The system itself endlessly reproduces fundamental, profound inequality and unfairness at pretty much every turn.
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