Re: Differences in income/work effort are OK
From: David Mandel (dlmandelrcip.com)
Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 01:05:27 -0700 (MST)

Rob Sandelin wrote:

> In the recent threads about work, servants, etc. there is a common notion
> which I would like to try to debunk, the notion that it has to be equal.
> Baloney! Insisting upon equality of contribution is not necessarily a good
> thing ...

I must have missed that, Rob; I didn't read that anybody came close to
"insisting upon equality of contribution." Perhaps you're being too quick to
stereotype a caricature of the camp that favors a community consensus on a
minimum work expectation. That's the same word I used before -- "minimum," not
"equal." The point is to take a stand in favor of economic diversity and
inclusivity -- that we agree to do a great deal of our own work in order 1) to
make life in our place affordable for those who don't have much to allocate for
hiring others to do it for us; and 2) to prevent polarization between those who
work and those who pay. Of course there are some things we pay to have done; we
have our collective limits in energy and expertise; and it's also fine that some
who have more time put in more hours, as it is that some with more money will
willingly pay more. But we try to strike a balance to avoid mirroring the
obscene inequalities in the larger society around us.

> When you can give service to another, and do so truly anonymously, where you
> honestly expect no return, nor any recognition, then you have acheived a big
> step towards enlightenment, and the world changes and becomes better.

    No one could possibly disagree, and I really hope it will take less than
another millenium to get there. Is your community really that evolved? I'm
incredibly and sincerely impressed if so. Meanwhile, I think, most of us need
some transitional rules arrived at through democratic and/or consensus process
to get even part way there.

David Mandel
Southside Park

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