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Basic labor: Difference between revisions
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* 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 '''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, etc. | * Basic labor '''is''' the labor it '''physically''' takes to produce enough [[food]], maintain enough [[housing]] & infrastructure, etc. | ||
* Basic labor is | * Basic labor is 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]]. | ||
* Basic labor is not a matter of simply labeling job professions as "essential" or "non-essential". For example, carpenters are "essential" in the sense that without carpentry, no one would have a home. But basic labor would only | * Basic labor is not a matter of simply labeling job professions as "essential" or "non-essential". For example, carpenters are "essential" in the sense that without carpentry, no one would have a home. But basic labor would include only the ''minimum'' amount of carpentry work it takes to build enough homes for everyone and maintain them at some basic livable standard. Basic labor wouldn't include the more cosmetic renovations done by richer people or businesses. | ||
* There is no need to have one universal definition of "basic needs". There can be multiple estimates of basic labor, each specifying clearly what is counted and what is not. | |||
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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. | 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. | ||