From: Gerald A. Levy (Gerald_A_Levy@MSN.COM)
Date: Mon Sep 13 2004 - 20:51:59 EDT
Hi Ian. > I think that the tendency for wages to homogenize should have an equal > theoretical status to the tendency for profit rates to homogenize. > Workers strive for economic equality with each other and capitalists > strive for economic equality with each other. But they do so according > to different rules and different methods. But in reality neither > tendency is realised. 1) Profit Rate Equalization To begin with, capitalists do *not* in general "strive for economic equality with each other." On the contrary, it is the striving for INequality by individual capitalists (i.e. individual capitalists searching for a *higher* than average rate of profit) that is the mechanism that helps to bring about and tendencially reproduce a general rate of profit and prices of production. 2) Wage Inequalities The striving of workers for economic equality is a very weak nail to hang your theoretical hat on here, imho. One might with equal or greater historical and theoretical basis claim that there is a long-term tendency under capitalism for persistent and growing wage disparities among workers. In any event, whether there is wage homogenization depends on highly contingent factors -- such as disparities in organization, solidarity, and militancy among workers internationally -- and so I question whether there is any theoretical or observable empirical tendency for wages to equalize. It is true that there are deskilling trends which could work towards a lessening of wage disparities among workers but there are contrary trends as well. Furthermore, only a segment of workers struggle for wage equality; another segment of workers who receive higher than the average wage struggle for higher wages for themselves and, although it may not be what they intended, greater wage inequalities result. Lastly, even if there is a lessening of wage disparities among workers this does not mean that this result is a consequence of workers striving to reduce inequalities within the working class. In solidarity, Jerry
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