“Le Depart pour Le Travail”
by Jean-Francois Millet

“A Sunflower from Maggie”
by Georgia O’Keeffe

Introducing Capitalist
Income Distribution

In a capitalist economy, income distribution depends on property ownership, bargaining power, and many variables that affect the latter including class position, personal productivity, group affiliations (race, gender, etc.), organizational clout (unions, professional associations, etc.), and others.

The result is a variation extending from nearly no income at the bottom, to gargantuan income at the top. Broadly, a few percent live lives of material plenty that would be barely comprehensible to most in its oppulance, about 20% are very comfortable to reasonably comfortable, a large portion of the remaining great majority are doing okay in the sense of not being desperate or destitute, but are always in danger of same and never really comfortable, and then a significan minority is really consistently desperate and on the edge of or in extreme poverty.

Introducing ParEcon
Income Distribution

In a parecon, income is a function of time spent doing socially valued work, with accommodation for intensity and, if relevant, onerousness of the labor.

The range of income is therefore quite modest. One can only work so many more hours than someone else, or so much more intensely than someone else. You can’t earn 10,000 times others, 1,000 times others, a hundred times others, even ten or five times others, etc. And what you do earn no one has reason to feel is unjust, as they could easily do likewise.

The only variation in income, in other words, is by self choice according to norms and with opportunity that is equal for all.

Evaluating Capitalist Income Distribution

As with other features of capitalism, if we have some kind of grotesquely elitist and jaundiced view of the human species, capitalism should get high marks. It accords well. If we think that humans are entitled to a dignified existence of mutual equity and comparable access to the means of fulfillment, then capitalism should be regarded as a blight on history and humanity.

It all depends on our values and aspirations, needless to say.

Evaluating ParEcon Income Distribution

In a parecon, income is a function of time spent doing socially valued work, with accommodation for intensity and, if relevant, onerousness of the labor. The range of income is therefore quite modest. One can only work so many more hours than someone else, or so much more intensely than someone else. You can’t earn 10,000 times others, 1,000 times others, a hundred times others, even ten or five times others, etc. And what you do earn no one has reason to feel is unjust, as they could easily do likewise.

The only variation in income, in other words, is by self choice according to norms and with opportunity that is equal for all.