A Good Society
12/06/12 22:52
Does anyone want a bad society? Not likely if our choice and preference may be given sway. We will choose good over bad if we can recognize the difference. It is a simple concept and most would agree: good is better than bad.
The problem comes in the definition. The employed manager of a business wants to please his employers, the owners of the business. The owners of the business want a sizable and growing return from their investment. In many commercial activities the largest expense of business is the cost of paying workers. As night follows day you may be sure that the successful manager will offer the lowest possible rate of pay to workers in order to increase profits and the return on investment to owners. So low pay is good for the manager and the owners and low pay is bad for the workers.
The value judgements here are these:
Would any of us disagree with these judgements? Probably not.
Question is: How may we have a good society when the same thing that is good for some members of society is bad for other members of society?
The problem comes in the definition. The employed manager of a business wants to please his employers, the owners of the business. The owners of the business want a sizable and growing return from their investment. In many commercial activities the largest expense of business is the cost of paying workers. As night follows day you may be sure that the successful manager will offer the lowest possible rate of pay to workers in order to increase profits and the return on investment to owners. So low pay is good for the manager and the owners and low pay is bad for the workers.
The value judgements here are these:
- low pay is bad for workers
- growing profits are good for managers and for owners
Would any of us disagree with these judgements? Probably not.
Question is: How may we have a good society when the same thing that is good for some members of society is bad for other members of society?