Wage slavery
Wage slavery is a term expressing disapproval of a condition where a person feels compelled to work in return for payment of a wage. In colloquial terms, this may refer to people that make a cult of work (the extreme case is dying of karoshi), or those who require one to work in order to be socially acceptable. In terms of criticism of capitalism, wage slavery is the condition where a particular person must sell his labor in order to survive.Critics of capitalism often believe that wage slavery exists in any situtaiton where one person controls the inputs to production (capital and land) that another person uses to produce goods. This sort of criticism is generally encountered in anarchist and communist criticisms of capitalism, but is also found in the strain of liberalism represented by Henry George [1] and Thomas Paine[1]. Criticism of capitalism on these grounds is connected to the belief that one should have freedom to work without a boss or obligation.
Instances of wage slavery that show the most similarity to chattel slavery occur in societies where educational opportunities are limited, unionization is violently suppressed, and property may be arbitrarily confiscated. By connection of global trade networks, these harsh instances of wage slavery are connected to and affect societies with stronger traditions of freedom and few noticible effects of supposed wage slavery. Extreme critics of capitalism claim that the same basic relationships are present in all capitalist societies, even if their impact is lessened by various traditions such as state accountability to the people and the establishment of a mixed economy. A mixed economy permits some private control based upon ownerhsip, but also exerts social control of capital through state ownership of certain industries or regulation of private ecnomic relationships. Some people advocate that the state only own those industries that are essential to life and provide it for free while at the same allowing the rest of the economy to remain capitalist.
The use of the term 'wage slavery' is a rhetorical device to draw parallels between the status quo and a historical condition that is universially condemned. However, various reasons have been given for distinguishing between the two types of 'slavery'. Defenders of the capitalist status quo argue that the term 'slavery' is inappropriate as a citizen in a capitalist democracy can choose his or her mode of income. In fact, it is a central tenet of the free enterprise theory of capitalism that a worker's working conditions are a matter of mutual consent and open to negotiation in accordance with the market forces of supply and demand.
It may be argued by the dissenter, however, that compliance with the dominant economic system, and those empowered by it, is nonetheless mandatory. While employees are not physically co-opted into accepting undesirable working conditions, they still have little choice if they wish to maintain a reasonable and secure standard of living.
Dissenters may also assert that capitalist economic systems have a tendency to commodify the very things that should be most freely available in society — especially one that is technologically advanced. A pronounced lack of leisure time (to devote to personal development and relationships) is commonly the focal point of such an argument.
The classic methods advocated to avoid work within the capitalist model encourage one to invest money in property that produces income, rather than purchasing unproductive properties such as expensive cars or other nonessential items (see consumerism). These properties may include rentable real estate, or businesses run by employees. Such properties can produce cash which can be reinvested or, after the cash production exceeds one's desired income, the excess can be diverted to safer, less-productive, more passive purchases, or to charities.
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