Debating Equal Pay for All

This anthology debates the idea of giving all people - no matter which profession or position they have (and whether they have a job or not) - the same pay. Some contributors argue against equal pay for all, some for increased pay equality but not for total pay equality, and some argue for equal pay for all. There is no common conclusion in the book; instead, the book aims to encourage reflection as well as further debate on something that is often taken for granted, namely differentiated pay, by offering a set of various standpoints in the debate, backed-up with various kinds of arguments. Among bases for arguments that are put forward in the book, economy, practicability and ethics belong to the most frequently occurring ones. This book is the first one to be published in the book series Palgrave Debates in Business and Management.

Auteur
Anders Örtenblad is Professor of Working Life Science at the School of Business and Law, University of Agder, Norway. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal The Learning Organization, and the editing founder of the book series Palgrave Debates in Business and Management.

Texte du rabat

This anthology debates the idea of giving all people no matter which profession or position they have (and whether they have a job or not) the same pay. Some contributors argue against equal pay for all, some for increased pay equality but not for total pay equality, and some argue for equal pay for all. There is no common conclusion in the book; instead, the book aims to encourage reflection as well as further debate on something that is often taken for granted, namely differentiated pay, by offering a set of various standpoints in the debate, backed-up with various kinds of arguments. Among bases for arguments that are put forward in the book, economy, practicability and ethics belong to the most frequently occurring ones. This book is the first one to be published in the book series Palgrave Debates in Business and Management.

Contenu

Preface by Anders Örtenblad

1. Background and introduction: Why debating equal pay for all?

Anders Örtenblad

SECTION A. AGAINST EQUAL PAY

(This section contains chapters that argue that equal pay for all is a bad idea.)

2. The thermodynamic nature of life as the premise of the theory of fair remuneration

Mieczysaw Dobija

The human body is powered by thermal engines. We know it and feel it, but theoretical explanations come from Sir Kelvin and P. Atkins. The first scholar formulated the second law of thermodynamics, according to which a heat engine cannot operate without a cooler; the cooler does not have to be a special device, but simply an environment that fulfills the role of a heat consumer. P. Atkins reminded us that the human body contains thousands of biochemical reactions acting on the principle of a thermal engine, so while living we must lose some of the energy transferred by the heat to the environment.

As P. Atkins [2005, pp. 157-158] explains, the human organism can be perceived as a thermal engine; "... The abstract thermal engine found in our body is diffused between all the cells of our body and takes thousands of different forms ..." The author explains the action of the thermal engine in the body via the ATP molecule (adesin-triphosphate), which converts into adenosine diphosphate thanks to the enzymes, while releasing energy.

Therefore, according to the first law of thermodynamics, lost energy must be replenished. Without supplementation, the human ability to do the work would disappear over time. These extremely important interpretations show the thermodynamic complexity of human body processes. The essence of an honest wage results from the observation that if life requires the operation of thermal engines, and these can work only if part of the source energy is lost, then this loss must be balanced to maintain balance and preserve the existence of being. A fair salary must, therefore, balance the natural loss of human capital resulting from the essence of life. This loss is determined by the random variable s, whose average value is, according to the study, equal to E(s) = 0.08 [1 / year].

This also includes the knowledge that Nature creates the potential for capital growth determined by the constant p = E (s), but in nature the dispersion of power is also spontaneous, so growth can be lost if it is not prevented by work. This constant defines the potential average growth rate of capital in economics and it serves also as the fundamental for computation of the employee's human capital value. The fair pay (W) of an employee is determined as 8 percent of his/her human capital [H (p,T)], where T is number of years of work experience. Thus, the fair minimum pay is determined as follows: W(p) = p × H(p,T).

What can be equal in compensation is this 8% applied to each employee human capital. The second factor usually differs among workers so pays are often different as well. Pays should be consistent with strong theory and good practice. Therefore the idea equal pay for all cannot gain a support.

Atkins P., (2005), Palec Galileusza. Dziesi wielkich idei nauki, Dom Wydawniczy Rebis, Pozna. [Galileeo's Finger The Ten Great Ideas of Science, (2003)]

3. Against Equal Pay

Matt Zwolinski There is no good economic or moral rationale for the idea of equal pay for all. In terms of economics, such a proposal would destroy the incentive-producing and information-conveying role of prices in the labor market, leading to catastrophic misallocations of labor and dire consequences for human welfare. And morally, there is simply no good rationale for either (a) the idea that all persons ought to have an equal income, or that (b) that it would be the responsibility of employers to provide it. A more morally and economically sensible idea is the proposal that government provide people with an equal minimum income. Such an income would provide a safety net below which no one would be allowed to fall, but above which they would be permitted (and incentivized) to cli...