On Mon, 12 Mar 2001, Justin Schwartz wrote:
>
> I was talking about DIFFERENTIAL pay, for whatever the reason. And I do
> think incentive effects, another consequentialist consideration, are real.
> And, finally, I do think that people who work harder or contribute more (not
> the same thing) deserve more, another taht does not trump, and I recognize
> that measurement of those "more" factors is a very rough and ready
> proposition. But hasn't anyone here worked in a na environment where he or
> she had to pick up the work for a slacker who was being paid just as much
> (or more),a nd resented it? Didn't you think that person was in fact
> exploiting you? That is the experential basis of working class belief in
> productivity-based pay differentials. --jks
>
But isn't this concern with maximizing productivity a product of capitalist economic relations? You wouldn't have to "pick up the work for a slacker" so often if fruits of the labor process were widely shared!
Let's face it: it doesn't take a high degree of productivity to meet everyone's needs, even in an industrial society. The major reason for the emphasis on productivity is that it is crucial for extracting surplus value from labor.
I think we'd all be a bit better off with lower levels of productivity among workers (even lawyers!) as long as we're able to feed and shelter and clothe one another.
Miles