Basic labor: Difference between revisions
(Created page with "'''Basic labor''' (for lack of a better term) is the bare minimum amount of labor that a society would need to sustain everyone's basic needs. <tab name="[See more clarification]" collapsed> Basic labor is '''not''' ''the cost of living'' expressed in work hours. That's a different metric{{npn}} which tends to be higher than basic labor. Basic labor '''is''' the labor it '''physically''' takes to produce enough food, maintain enough housing & infrastructure,...") |
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Basic labor is also a fair response to the old anti-welfare rhetoric "If no one worked, no one would produce food and we would all starve!"<br /> | Basic labor is also a fair response to the old anti-welfare rhetoric "If no one worked, no one would produce food and we would all starve!"<br /> | ||
It's worth '''quantifying''' how much work it actually takes to fulfill basic needs, such as [[food]]. | It's worth '''quantifying''' how much work it actually takes to fulfill basic needs, such as [[food]]. | ||
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MAYBE ADD: Some people may be offended by the term "basic labor" as if it sounds like some sort of authoritarian dictatorship where everyone is told exactly what job they must do for the rest of their lives. But basic labor is a concept that can apply to any free-market economy just as well. If you can think of a less dystopian name than "basic labor", post it in the comments. | |||
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The exact amount of labor can vary, depending on... | The exact amount of labor can vary, depending on... | ||
Revision as of 20:55, 9 September 2023
Basic labor (for lack of a better term) is the bare minimum amount of labor that a society would need to sustain everyone's basic needs.
Basic labor is not the cost of living expressed in work hours. That's a different metric[new page needed] which tends to be higher than basic labor.
Basic labor is the labor it physically takes to produce enough food, maintain enough housing & infrastructure, etc.
Basic labor is also a fair response to the old anti-welfare rhetoric "If no one worked, no one would produce food and we would all starve!"
It's worth quantifying how much work it actually takes to fulfill basic needs, such as food.
The exact amount of labor can vary, depending on...
- what's considered a basic need, and
- the current level of technological development...
...but in general, in the modern world, basic labor is just a small fraction of the actual labor that people do.
Estimates
Food
This section has not been filled in yet.
Housing
This section has not been filled in yet.