[I]f some places were not open on a basis fair to all, those kept out would be right in feeling unjustly treated even though they benefited from the greater efforts of those who were allowed to hold them. They would be justified in their complaint not only because they were excluded from certain external rewards of office such as wealth and privilege, but because they were debarred from experiencing the realization of self which comes from a skillful and devoted exercise of social duties. They would be deprived of one of the main forms of human good.John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (Cambridge: Harvard UP 1971) (2005), p. 84.
This would have fit in great inside my Racism as Subjectification article, which concerns how people "want to be wanted" and consequently how they are damaged when social structures deny them instrumental, objective value -- value in terms of their usefulness to the projects of others. That article is forthcoming in the Berkeley Journal of African-American Law & Policy, and should be coming out ... well, it should have come out months ago, actually. I'm not sure what the hold up is. Maybe I could still slip it in yet.
3 comments:
"[M]y Racism as Subjectification article … concerns how people 'want to be wanted' and consequently how they are damaged when social structures deny them instrumental, objective value -- value in terms of their usefulness to the projects of others."
It’s worth reflecting that Dr. King gave his “I have a Dream” speech at the 1963 “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.” I tend to think of a demand for Jobs as a demand for income. But perhaps that’s too reductive, especially when juxtaposed with Freedom. One manifestation of segregation is a lack of integration with the bulk of our social lives – and arguably the bulk of our social lives concerns our work.
Labor economist Hirschel Kasper remarked that leisure is a superior good in small quantities, but becomes a burden in larger quantities. He’d say (paraphrased), “There is no joy in having nothing to do; the joy comes from having things to do -- and not doing them.” Similarly, Catholic social justice theory has long emphasized the “ennobling dignity of labor,” independent of the value of the labor.
I feel anxious about this dynamic long-term. I sense that mechanization has reduced the demand for labor, and that this trend will pick up speed as time goes on. In Average is Over, Tyler Cowen predicts a world in which a few geniuses do all the work, leaving everyone else with little income but even fewer expenses, and no demands on their time. No, we won’t be able to rely on market forces to distribute the wealth. So we’ll have to create other mechanisms.
But here’s the tricky part: Can well just send people direct deposit? Or must we contrive ways to make people feel as if they’ve earned what they receive, lest we court social decay?
If everyone received a basic income guarantee (BIG) and labor became a hobby, would we still need a minimum wage? Would we still need to regulate the workplace to guard against undue discrimination and hostile work environments? In short, when people’s compensation consists of the social aspect of the job – the sense of identity and belonging, the structure that the job gives to your day – would legislatures and courts recognize that being deprived of these social dynamics represented a cognizable injury?
A last thought: American society traditionally praises a measure of self-denial and stoicism. But in a post-scarcity world, arguably the most valuable people would be those who have ever more wants and thereby drive demand. People of exacting tastes and subtle sensibilities. In contrast, ascetics and people who become satiated could not drive demand -- that is, they wouldn’t help people feel wanted. Because in this brave new world, the last and greatest need may be to contrive ways for people to feel needed. As Victor Frankl observed, people who feel they have a mission feel valued. The mission can be a delusion, yet the feeling can be real and life–sustaining.
"That article is forthcoming in the Berkeley Journal of African-American Law & Policy, and should be coming out ... well, it should have come out months ago, actually. I'm not sure what the hold up is."
Don’t know? Oh, sure you do....
(Kidding! Kidding!)
While I'd caution that I don't think providing economic value is the sole means of providing instrumental value (we also like to provide value as companions, as friends, as artistic inspiration, etc.), I think this is a very interesting and insightful comment.
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