And others see such a vast imbalance in wealth to be counterproductive and very far from being in the interest of a society which works for more than the top few per cent.
It's funny you quote Bastiat, because it wasn't capitalism he was referring to...it was socialism. You're free to seek the best price for your labor; those who buy it are free to seek their best price. If you're unhappy with that price and think you have no options, what are you doing to change that? You live in 21st century Canada, fercrissakes, not 18th century France.
If the observation fits... yet look what economic inequity caused by a concentration of wealth (based in part, on speculative value of real estate, no less) did to France for the next 30 or so years. it isn't up to me to change the take it or leave it conditions of my trade... you're expecting a negotiating skill that is neither in my job description nor possible to approach on a level playing field. Of course, the quality of home building in North America has suffered greatly as wages no longer approach the efforts/skill required. somewhat ironically, that would be the duty of those who control the wages/prices.
I don't think comparing the essentially feudal economy of 18th century France to modern capitalism is at all apt, for many reasons. It is, however, up to you to address your own problems. I don't expect you to improve your lot (much) by negotiating; I expect you to seek the best deal you can get. But, in your field, there is a very hard limit on how good that deal can get. No one's going to pay you $200,000/year to hang sheetrock or to frame. If you want to improve your lot--that is, you want a better lifestyle than that of a semi-skilled laborer--you need to pursue other opportunities. Specialize. Or learn a trade that pays more (electrician, plumber). Or pursue some other profession. I don't claim this is easy--you may not have a lot of extra time or money to invest in a new endeavor--but no one else is going to fix this for you. Do nothing but blame others or the crummy system for your situation, and your situation will never change. Be that as it may, if the houses still sell, the quality is adequate for the one judge who ultimately matters: the buyer. Nobody controls wages and prices. No one should. In any transaction--for wages, for goods, whatever--there is a price paid by the buyer to the seller. If the price isn't something upon which they mutually agree, then it has to be skewed in favor of one or the other. If so, the transaction either doesn't happen, or (if it is compelled by law to happen) one of the parties is exploited.
also, given that Bastiat died in 1850, and "socialism" at the time was so barely formed an ideology that its basic definition wouldn't be settled upon until 1864, well... I don't think your interpretation of him arguing against socialism is accurate. Indeed, the proto socialists of Bastiat's era advocated "meritocracy" over privileged elites and the moral obligation of the gentry to ensure better living conditions for the newly formed industrial working classes.
A central theme of Bastiat's work is this: If you look at the Wikiquote page, it's got several of Bastiat's arguments against socialism (and explicitly socialism). Robert Owen and Henri de Saint-Simon were contemporaries of Bastiat, and had ideas about socialism--the whole of society organized and regimented for the (supposed) common good of all--that are not at all different from the modern form. Their ideas were either repressive and/or failure-prone for the same reasons modern socialism's were/are.
why did I KNOW that as soon as you guys got rid of dayton, you fuckers would start doing math in the red room. Shit, man, between this, China censoring half of everything (1989 Tienanmen square protests, Winnie the poo, uigers, ghosts) Korea and Japan getting back into it, and the EU doing everything it can to destroy a country trying to leave it, I think it's time to start investing in shotgun shells and canned goods.
Wait, China's censoring ghosts now? They're already dead, there's not much else you can do to stop them.
Oh, I'm sure the good folks at Blizzard will modify whatever they need to get some of that sweet Chinese gaming market. They've already shown they can lick a mean boot.
