Volume 1: A sound on Wall Street, Xinxiang City is busy copying books Chapter 21 Translation
Chapter subtitle: They are poor because they are lazy
"Master Muller's early theory of wages is as elegant and clear as the mass-energy formula. You two must know that he was the first to propose the concept of a wages fund."
What is the wage fund? It is the minimum living cost that is set to ensure that the workers will not starve to death... What, you said they have to support their families? This really underestimates the kindness of our capitalists. Their factories treat women and children equally. If they come, they will have work to do. If they have work to do, they will get money. If they have money, they will not starve to death.
“Wages are determined by the supply and demand of labor. The supply of labor is the number of workers, and the demand for labor is the capital that purchases the workers’ labor. Under the premise of a free labor market, the relationship between supply and demand will adjust wages to the fixed value of the wage fund.”
What this sentence means is that if there are more workers, the capitalists will be willing to pay less wages, but no matter how low the wages are, the workers will not starve to death, otherwise no one will be willing to work.
"He also believes that the minimum wage or subsidies implemented by the government are of no practical use and cannot really improve the wage environment."
Why should the government interfere in such a fair and just thing, such a free two-way choice ? What about minimum wage tax subsidies? This is simply the biggest insult to the word freedom.
"Of course, as a gentleman, it is a moral responsibility for the lower class people to be unable to climb out of the abyss of poverty, and we should not sit idly by. So as long as we adopt a corresponding reward mechanism, hardworking people can get more rewards to allow themselves and their families to live a decent life. As for those lazy people... the free labor market will naturally eliminate them."
Yuan Yan flicked the ash off her cigarette and said, "Malthus said long ago that the real cause of poverty is the low morals of the poor. The only way for them to escape poverty is through hard work and... suppressing their reproductive impulses."
Does this need to be translated? You are poor because you are lazy, and you have a bad life because you have too many children. This is such a wake-up call.
The Malthus he was referring to was the one who proposed the Essay on the Principle of Population. However, as an 18th-century economist, it is understandable that he thought so. At least he did not say like the gentlemen of the late Ming Dynasty: "If you are not content to be a starving corpse, you should be like a praying mantis."
Our Master Yuan shook his head and said with great sorrow: "But Master Mueller was exposed to some bad ideas after marriage. The facts that women's delicate hearts cannot bear should be nothing more than after-dinner talk and jokes for a gentleman who can face life directly. It can only be said that no one is perfect, and he also began to turn to the other side of freedom, which is really heartbreaking."
"He was the first to make the indiscreet mixture of liberalism and socialism which led to the decline of liberalism in Britain and to the lowering of the standard of living of the British people."
A classical liberal master actually married a feminist who was anti-traditional, anti-Christian, and even opposed to marriage and was enthusiastic about left-wing ideas. It would have been fine if he had just married her, but he actually began to lean from the side of freedom to the side of fairness, and even wanted to mix the two irreconcilable things together. This can only be said to be a case of a hero being tempted by beauty. Later, he served as a member of the British Parliament and vigorously promoted bills to improve workers' conditions during his tenure.
This man is a disgrace to liberalism!
Yuan Yan suddenly put out the cigarette vigorously and said sadly: "In the articles he wrote in his later years, which are more suitable to be regarded as beautiful essays rather than rigorous works, he mentioned many times that as long as wages are calculated according to working hours rather than work performance, free capitalism will also encounter incentive problems."
"This argument is also one of the main pillars of left-wing thought in recent decades, attracting petty bourgeoisie who don't even understand the marginal utility theory of value."
The so-called "marginal utility value theory" simply means that prices are determined by the psychological expectations of both buyers and sellers. For example, you think your boss's salary is too low, but he thinks it is too high. But you haven't found a better job, and he hasn't found a better person, so you have to make do with what you have. Its representative figure is Böhm-Bawerk, who is also the founder of the first generation of the Austrian School.
"Of course, due to human weakness, under the hourly work system, workers' enthusiasm for work is limited to keeping their jobs. But if he can do more, if his knowledge, ability and strength allow, he will seek a more difficult and thus higher-paying position. He may not do so because of laziness, but this is not the fault of society or capitalism."
"This system does everything it can to encourage people to exert their utmost diligence, because it guarantees that everyone gets the fruits of his labor!"
Yuan Yan thought to herself, you two have never seen the speed at which new labor forces are pouring into the job market, and the speed at which all kinds of knowledge are updated is so fast that it makes people astonished in the 21st century. For college graduates, 27 or 28 years old are considered senior employees; in their early 30s, if they can't make a good PPT, they may be fired by the company; if meritorious veteran employees over 34 years old can't keep up with the situation, they will still pack up and leave; at 40, basically no company will want you, and if you are older, you can only "start your own business" or work as a community security guard.
Would it work without a neoclassical liberal master like him to come out and endorse the "free" behavior of capitalists?
“Pah pah pah…”
Professor Owen Adams, smoking a pipe, clapped his hands softly to express his satisfaction with his "favorite student."
There is no way to be dissatisfied. This is neither the 21st century nor the second half of the 20th century. There is no Baidu Encyclopedia nor "History of Western Economics". In other words, if Yuan Yanshu was not a master of economics in later generations, he would have to read John Stuart Mill's works from his early years to his later years to make such a high-sounding statement. After reading it, he would have to understand it, and after understanding it, he would have to extract the essence. After the extraction, the last step is to find the loopholes in the theoretical logic.
Don’t underestimate these few light-hearted words. For people at that time, it would have been impossible to do so without being well-educated. This is the spirit of scholarship and academic talent.
Julian H. Chandler held his eyes with his hands, looked at Yuan Yanshu again, and asked, "Mr. Yuan, why haven't I seen you in my class?"
Of course it’s because I went out to eat, drink and have fun.
"Of course it's because of Professor Adams! He..." Master Yuan glanced at the fat professor who looked a little embarrassed and said, "He is very strict in supervising my studies, especially after I failed my master's thesis last time, so I haven't had time to attend your class to listen to your teachings."
"But compared to dealing with numbers, I prefer to study propositions that are more grand, more metaphysical, and more closely related to the universal destiny of mankind. So I used my spare time to read and think more widely, which led to the prototype of this paper."
"Professor Adams did not feel unhappy because of my youth and recklessness, and even invited you to participate in the review and evaluation, which made me even more grateful. Of course, Professor Chandler's taking the time to come here is also the greatest affirmation and encouragement to me."
“Regardless of whether I can apply for a doctorate with this paper, both of you are my role models in my academic journey.”
As he said this, he stood up and bowed 45 degrees to the two professors, and they nodded towards the Chinese student with gratified eyes.
A sedan chair is carried by everyone, and saying a few nice words costs nothing except saliva, so why not do it?
