Most people learn what they are taught, internalize and move on with life. I am different because I question a lot about what I come across. When I was still a student, I was taught many theories and perspectives on how inequality started and how it persists till today. However I do feel that they are still lacking. As in, those theories excite me but they do not satisfy me.
A theory is not useful unless it points to the solution of a problem.
ME
Previously I wrote about how inequality came about after the inception of capitalism (traditional capitalism). After writing that article, I began to see a huge gap in that reasoning. The gap exist between ‘efficient labourers getting paid more as reward’ and how people can be paid astronomical amounts as of today as ‘wages’. Hence the title, and my short answer to this is that “It All Began with Kindness.”
Kindness leads to Inequality?
No, it is not a direct cause and effect. Actually Kindness leads to unfairness. When a business owner hires 10 labourers to work for him or her, there will always be differences in their capabilities. However, since they are all hired based on the same job requirements, thus they are all paid the same.
When questioned about their output, it would be simple if they are working in a labour intensive role such as a farmer or a harvester. However in modern times the idea of ‘output’ is no longer the same. We might still classify and quantify work into projects, accounts, dollars or even number of ‘likes.’ But we often measure each person’s output or worth based on their experience, attitude and even behaviour. That is why unfairness is born in the workplace, as we do not judge everyone based on a uniform yardstick.
Subjective Unfairness Justifies Inequality
The world is unfair so not everyone deserves the same. Deal with it.
tonnes of people out there
Not all unfairness in this work is subjective. In fact, everyone is born different, some are taller, some have blue eyes and blonde hair. And these differences causes our innate value to differ from one another. Say for example, a tall person would likely be hired for work which requires height to increase productivity. Whereas another job in the fields perhaps requires those who can bend down to seed crops all morning for extended periods of time. These traits are valuable and thus according to what’s valued more in a job, workers would be valued differently. But what about areas which does not affect actual work?
Solution?
The solution that I am suggesting is simple but yet ‘impossible’ to execute. We must somehow make the workplace fair again, and that means to remove subjective grading and appraisals. And in order to keep it fair, we need to remove ‘kindness’ from the way Bosses treat their employees. This will reduce unfairness in the workplace and inequality in society.
Ultimately, I believe that inequality exists because of privilege and not abilities. It might be true for some who have exceptional abilities to be promoted based on merit but for those who only have effort to offer I am sure that they will not be valued the way they should have been.
