Some Effects of Worker Participation and the Distribution of Income

Abstract

Professor Pearce asserts that, provided money and prices continue to exist, then the implied ‘natural’ income distribution will be the same whether capitalists or workers run the system. Capitalism, he argues, does not exploit labour; quite the contrary, in fact, since in his model capitalism is shown to maximise wages. No amount of socialism, Marxism or workers’ participation could increase wages since these are already and always will be under capitalism, at a maximum. In short, worker control is shown to yield exactly the same income distribution as control by capitalists.