Since Karl Marx introduced the leftist paradigm in the XIX century, people have been discussing and having debates on the economic model of the social structure. The author of the text to analyze seems to support the opposite, libertarian camp. However, they also believe that there is no place for sharp judgments in this question. Nevertheless, the author presents some arguments for their position, and it could be interesting to examine how persuasive they are.
To begin with, the author does provide a strong poll of argumentation, however, not all of them appear to be equally convincing. First, probably, the most persuasive argument is that equal payment discourages the creative rituals from moving the progress forward. Secondly, the author’s examples of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as egalitarian politicians seem inadequate as their agenda stays hugely far from the traditional leftist approach described beforehand. Hence, the author’s vision is clear, but it is not convincing as it does not explore the possible counterarguments.
Furthermore, the author’s position may not be so persuasive for the individuals who have had an experience of life in countries that tried to make the socialist dream a reality. Theoretically, the argument of equal pay for any kind of work sounds illogical, but the truth is that leftist society does not seek that model. The main Soviet slogan “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” directly contradicts the author’s idea. Moreover, they may argue with the author on the idea that people lose motivation in a socialist society. Most of such projects were totalitarian, so it is hard to judge history. However, many athletes, artists, and scientists in the USSR found their happiness in serving the common good despite their wages (Tsipurian, 2016).
To conclude, the author provides their readers with extensive arguments on the drawbacks of a socialist, egalitarian model that primarily values equality. According to the text, it discourages individuals from moving forward to say nothing about the fact that the minimum payment ends up the maximum. However, not all the arguments and illustrations are compelling, especially for the ones who have an experience of life in a socialist project like the USSR.
References
Tsipurian, G. (2016). Socialist fun: Youth, consumption, and state-sponsored popular culture in the Soviet Union, 1945 – 1970. University of Pittsburg Press.