Labor can take many forms, starting from the entrepreneur on down to individuals on a production line. You have to start with an idea and turn it into something that creates value and wealth. It takes a heck of a lot of work to launch a business. Anyhow, I am looking at value creation and labor at a higher level than you are wanting to define it, but of course those that founded businesses and are putting significant intellectual capital into growing those business are more handsomely rewarded than a production line worker. Nevertheless, all individuals involved can contribute to their own wealth if they utilize their capital or earnings wisely. Do you disagree?
I think i agree. I agree the not all labor is equal, which i think is your point. My labor is surely worth more than the teenager cutting my grass (haphazardly, darn kids). My labor is worth more simply because there is more demand for it, and there is demand for it because people want their capital put to some sort of use so that they may profit. And certanly, those that "loan" their capital, intellectual or otherwise, must be granted a reasonable return for their property.
The trick with economic justice, I think, is how and how much should go to whom. I hope we could all agree both extremes are wrong, pure equality where all wealth is redistributed would be counter productive, not good for society in the long run. But equally so, no redistribution would mean no public goods, no roads, parks, no police or education. In that state, we would all own nothing.
So, personally, i think the thought is if we all enter into a social contract in which we pay taxes in order to have certain public goods like roads, military safety, rule of law to protect whats "ours", well, how far do we go?
Healthcare? Well that is the poli-football of our time. But ultimately the question might fundamentally be what things are "good" to have distributed by the government, and what things are not?
I would argue the highway system would be a ridiculous disjointed knot if left to a free market to construct. Equally, the government should not be in the business of subsidizing the price of corn or sugar and other commodities. (Really hope i didn't just irk a farmer)
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