• Nimo@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      It is so much easier placing the blame on “the system” rather than on the individual not raking responsibility for their lot. For the vast majority of cases you’re on £7 p/h because fundamentally you deserve to be. The market doesn’t reward failure or lack of ambition.

    • Nimo@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      It’s a BIG factor…poor academic attainment is the driving force behind the majority of minimum wage jobs. If you’re smart and have drive you don’t work for $7 p/h.

      • twig@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        4 months ago

        Say that’s true. Do you then actually believe that if you’re not smart or you “don’t have drive,” you somehow deserve to be unhoused or starve, to be unable to access healthcare?

        I’m all for people improving their lives, but as a baseline I just don’t believe that certain people deserve the consequences of horrible poverty just because they didn’t or couldn’t perform academically.

        Also what’s the justification for having a system that allows employers to exploit workers by paying poverty wages while materially benefiting from that labor?

        • Nimo@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          The question fundamentally misunderstands the nature of human existence and the principles of a free society. No one deserves to starve or be unhoused, but reality does not cater to mere desires or needs. The essence of survival and prosperity lies in an individual’s ability to think, produce, and trade value for value.

          Those who are not smart or lack drive must still be responsible for their own lives. A free society offers opportunities for all, but it does not guarantee outcomes regardless of effort or ability. The moral and practical basis of capitalism is that each individual must earn their way through rational thought and productive work.

          It is not the role of employers to ensure the well-being of their workers beyond the agreed-upon exchange of labor for wages. Employers do not exploit workers; they offer them opportunities. Workers are free to accept these terms or seek better ones elsewhere. The notion of “poverty wages” ignores the individual’s responsibility to improve their skills and increase their value in the marketplace.

          • J Lou@mastodon.social
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            4 months ago

            Workers are de facto responsible for creating the opportunities that employers gate keep. Employers violate workers’ inalienable rights. The workers are de facto responsible for using up inputs to produce outputs, but the employer gets sole legal responsibility for the positive and negative results of production. This violates the principle that legal and de facto responsibility should match.

            No one is responsible for creating land. Landlords deny everyone’s equal claim to land

            @politics

            • Nimo@lemmy.world
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              4 months ago

              Your assertion that employers violate workers’ inalienable rights by controlling opportunities does not align with the principles of a free society… Employers provide opportunities through their legitimate ownership of capital and resources, and workers voluntarily agree to the terms of employment. This voluntary exchange is a fundamental aspect of a free market. Legal and de facto responsibilities are aligned through voluntary contracts, and any perceived imbalance does not justify infringing on property rights.

              As for landlords and land, the legitimate acquisition and ownership of property are central to individual liberty. If landlords have acquired land through just means, they have the right to control its use. The idea of equal claims to land undermines the principles of justice in acquisition and transfer of holdings. Historical injustices in acquisition should be rectified, but this does not negate the current rights of property owners.

              • J Lou@mastodon.social
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                4 months ago

                An employer, in principle, can hire both labor and capital, so they don’t have to own capital. In practice, employers tend to be corporations that own capital due to bargaining power.

                Workers consent to employment terms, but they can’t fulfill them. The problem is that consent is not a sufficient condition to transfer de facto responsibility.

                Abolishing employment doesn’t infringe on property rights. Employment contracts infringe on labor’s property rights to the fruits of labor
                @politics

                • Nimo@lemmy.world
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                  4 months ago

                  While it is true that an employer may theoretically hire both labor and capital, in practice, the most efficient and productive enterprises are those where employers possess and manage capital. This ownership enables the coordination and investment necessary for innovation and progress. The bargaining power you mention is not an arbitrary imposition but a natural consequence of providing value through the creation and management of capital.

                  • J Lou@mastodon.social
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                    4 months ago

                    I’m aware of the standard line.

                    De facto responsibility can’t be transferred from the employees solely to the employer to match the legal responsibility assignment in the employer-employee contract. A thought experiment showing this is to consider an employer and employee cooperating to commit a crime. The employee can’t argue that they sold their labor, and are not responsible. The law correctly applies the principle of legal and de facto responsibility matching. Both are criminous

                    @politics