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Monday, July 30, 2007
The Reciprocity-ists
Jared Bernstein has his speech up on TPM Cafe. Very much worth a read. It's a quick sum-up of his views on inequality and the way towards greater equality. A good passage:
I'd like to offer three principles against which we can judge the nature and scope of the economic problems we face; three concepts that I suspect most of us would agree must be present in a viable social contract (and I'm borrowing here in part from the work of Fred Block): reciprocity, fair competition, and fair opportunities.
I've talked about reciprocity, and, in the context of our discussion today, I consider it the most important of the three. The best statistical shorthand for demonstrating its absence in today's economy is the split between strong productivity growth and the stagnant real wages and incomes of the typical or median family.
Equally important in this regard is the share of income accruing to those at the top of the scale, and the fact that poverty rates, by any measure, have not responded at all to growth in the current recovery.
Indeed- but reciprocity can be stated more emphatically as exploitation or, on the extreme end, as wage slavery. It may turn some heads to use more provocative terminology, and I have no idea which is more politically useful, but I do think that provocative language better describes what's actually happening. People are contributing, but not getting back what they deserve. Their efforts are being exploited for the benefit of an exclusive few. They're being restrained from bargaining for the wages they've earned.
Bernstein refers to the work of political scientist Fred Block. Here's an article of his The Nation last year. Pretty good stuff, too, and I think he gets closer to a fuller explaination.
These kindergarten rules, in fact, translate directly into the four key principles that would be an integral part of a moral economy. "Don't hit" and "take turns" are about the principle of reciprocity; we need to behave toward others as we want them to act toward us. We should avoid force and coercion in our economic relations, including the quiet violence that occurs when we exploit someone's vulnerability or ignorance. Reciprocity is the foundation upon which trust is built, and high levels of trust are indispensable for economic prosperity.
But why do we need more reciprocity? Bernstein supplies the data on productivity and wage growth- Block's got the visuals. Could we link these thoughts up?
I don't want to seem too critical here- it's my hunch that Bernstein, Block and other people (like the folks at inclusionist.org) are articulating the most vibrant, progressive way of thinking about equality, the mother of all issues. I just think it might be useful to unpack things a bit more.
Posted by Matt Lewis
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