Capitalism creates profound divides between the worker, the product of their labor, and the wealth they generate. This alienation ensures that the working class accepts extreme inequality as a personal failing rather than a systemic design.
Alienation: The condition where workers are estranged from the value of their production, often leading them to believe they do not deserve the fruits of their labor.
Productivity-Pay Gap: The economic phenomenon where net productivity increases drastically while typical worker pay stagnates, funneling surplus value to executives and shareholders.
From 1979 to 2020, total net productivity in the United States went up by 61.8%, while typical worker pay increased by only 17.5%. During a similar period, working-age households were forced to work an extra 368 hours annually (more than six full work weeks) for a mere 68-cent increase in implicit hourly wages.