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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 situation 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 [2] . Criticism of capitalism on these grounds is connected to
the belief that one should have freedom to work without a boss or obligation.
The use of the term 'wage slavery' is a rhetorical device to draw parallels
between the status quo and a historical institution that is universally condemned. Wage slavery is juxtaposed with chattel slavery (typically called “slavery”), the institution
where one person owns another person as property. The use of this term suggests that even with the abolition of chattel slavery,
many individuals do not experience meaningful freedom and that one class of persons methodically acquires wealth that rightfully
belongs to another.
The concept of wage slavery is substantially different than chattel slavery in that no class of persons is legally identified
as “slaves,” and likewise, no persons are legally the “masters.” As a consequence of this difference,
wage slavery is seen as a relationship between entire classes of persons with no clear distinction between the masters and the
slaves. Instead, wage slavery is embodied in the institution of property ownership
and the “master/slave” relationship emerges from the concentration of property in the hands of particular
individuals, while all individuals are born with no property except their own bodies. Critics of capitalism view this property
system as a matter of convention, not natural law. From this viewpoint, employment agreements are not free of coercion, and any market interaction is artificially biased in favor of those with property.
Another difference between wage slavery and chattel slavery is that many individuals who might be categorized as “wage
slaves” do not suffer any significant material deprivations, and could easily invest in productive property if they only restrained their consumption. While advocates of free enterprise
capitalism view such individuals as being a natural part of capitalism and proof of the fundamental freedom of the workers,
critics of capitalism believe that the middle class in capitalist societies
is the consequence of temporary market conditions, exploitation of one nation by
another, or market
regulation and wealth redistribution by a representative state.
Critics of capitalism may view the working class to be slaves if
employers have unrestricted power to fire individual workers. The "at will" employment arrangement means that a worker may be
fired (or quit) for any reason. If a worker fears loosing his job more than the employer fears loosing a particular worker, then
the employer can govern the personal life of the worker. For example, a worker may be fired based on his sexual orientation, unless protected by an enforceable anti-discrimination
law. In an unrestrained form, this power even extends to basic civil liberties, such as the right to worship freely or to
express political opinions. This power could even undermine the right to vote. Fear of this
power was a significant motivator for instituting the secret ballot. This
lopsided power arrangement is also evident in housing leases, where the personal behavior of leasees may be limited by the moral
opinion of the owners. This may also be compared to how the owners of the mass
media can limit the expression of ideas that they disagree with by refusing to run advertisements based upon content.
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 noticeable 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 ownership, but also exerts social
control of capital through state ownership of certain industries or regulation of private economic 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.
Critics of capitalism 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.
See also
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