jim.shamlin.com

Unequal Compensation of Labor

The compensation in labor is based on the quality of workmanship: where a village is served by two tailors, the one whose works are better, more durable, or more fashionable will fetch a higher price from consumers and better compensation for his labors.

The compensation for labor also derives from the scarcity of goods: in the same village, if one of the tailors should die, the other will be pressed for work as people who wish to have new clothes will offer more to receive them, whatever the quality.

Those crafts requiring the most training to learn and which demonstrate the most ingenuity in their execution will be better paid, but this derives from the quality of the workmanship and the rarity of the skills.

Those occupations that involve risk and danger, such as miners and sailors, ought to be paid in proportion to the risks. This derives of the rarity of men willing to undertake such risks.

Those occupations in which trustworthiness is required pays still more highly, in the case of jewelers, bookkeepers, cashiers and others.

These examples "and a hundred others drawn from ordinary experience" easily demonstrate that the compensation of labor is entirely based on natural and obvious reasons.