Why the "Just Wage" Theory Doesn't Make Much Sense

09/27/2023Ryan McMaken

Narrator:

Just-wage theory tells us that an employer cannot reduce his workers' wages below some presumed "cost of living." Yet, that same employer can be permitted to reduce the worker's wage to zero if the worker has been replaced by a machine.

Original Article: Why the "Just Wage" Theory Doesn't Make Much Sense

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Author:

Contact Ryan McMaken

Ryan McMaken (@ryanmcmaken) is executive editor at the Mises Institute. Send him your article submissions for the Mises Wire and Power and Market, but read article guidelines first. Ryan has a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in public policy, finance, and international relations from the University of Colorado. He was a housing economist for the State of Colorado. He is the author of Breaking Away: The Case of Secession, Radical Decentralization, and Smaller Polities and Commie Cowboys: The Bourgeoisie and the Nation-State in the Western Genre.