There are those in society who enjoy that others are poor. They enjoy it because it means by contrast they are rich and successful, even if they are nothing compared to the 1%
The idea that people working in ‘mundane’ jobs could afford to live and enjoy themselves is an affront to their dignity.
There’s a social ladder. Everyone above is God to be worshipped, and everyone below them is trash who deserves to get pushed down.
They also have a direct material interest, because higher wages for workers would result in capitalists raising prices for everyone, so they would themselves become poorer, so they support the existence of the underclass to protect their own relative wellbeing.
Which is of course exactly what they do think.
There are those in society who enjoy that others are poor. They enjoy it because it means by contrast they are rich and successful, even if they are nothing compared to the 1%
The idea that people working in ‘mundane’ jobs could afford to live and enjoy themselves is an affront to their dignity.
There’s a social ladder. Everyone above is God to be worshipped, and everyone below them is trash who deserves to get pushed down.
They also have a direct material interest, because higher wages for workers would result in capitalists raising prices for everyone, so they would themselves become poorer, so they support the existence of the underclass to protect their own relative wellbeing.
I’m not disagreeing that that’s what would happen, because the people at the top won’t want to make less money but it’s so disappointing.
Try to increase the buying power of those at the bottom and the greed at the top means that everyone below loses buying power.