When we think about the relationship between employers and workers, it is clear that employers hurt themselves when they try to lower the value of workers’ labor. Workers depend on their wages to support their families, but employers also depend on the demand for the goods they make and sell. If most people earned enough to buy the basic comforts of life, the need for goods like homes, furniture, and clothing would rise. This would increase sales and help employers earn more, not less.
A community where workers earn steady wages would have a stronger industry. Workers would not struggle to find jobs, sellers would not worry about making sales, and business owners would have better chances to invest and grow. For example, a hat maker benefits when many families can afford good hats, because strong demand is what allows him to pay his shop rent and support his own family.
The same idea is true for tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, cabinetmakers, builders, and others. All depend on the demand for their skills, labor, or capital. That demand rises or falls based on whether most people can afford to buy goods. If the community is to prosper, everyone must care about keeping the wider population healthy, hardworking, and able to purchase what they need.
