In this book, Tibor Machan and his contributors examine some of the special ethical dimensions of work. They offer some controversial alternatives to conventional ways of understanding the labor market. Their proposals take a fiercely individualistic viewpoint toward many sacred cows, ultimately calling for a conceptual and actual merging of labor and management—ending centuries of pseudo conflict and thus any need for a Department of Labor and national right-to-work legislation. The contributors present their controversial views on a full spectrum of work-related issues. They suggest that the minimum wage, subsidies, and price support measures violate freedom of choice for all traders in a free society. They reveal mandated employee benefits to be unfortunate labor market restrictions that actually harm workers and undermine the morality of the labor market. And they show how policies set by federal agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration violate basic property and other individual rights and create a "drug lag" between different markets—as for instance, in the United States and Canada.Morality and Work dares to question why the right to organize and join labor unions should be one of the basic rights of workers, as well as what is the true purpose of government licensing—which allows vested interests to be favored, with some professions gaining, and others failing to gain, "lawfulness." Employment legislation that diminishes the freedom and responsibility of individuals to make decisions regarding their own welfare is held to be morally questionable. Morality and Work confronts these and other issues with a bold, candid approach that is sometimes unsettling but always thought-provoking.
Copyright 2000.
