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this post was submitted on 06 Oct 2026
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Work Reform
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A place to discuss positive changes that can make work more equitable, and to vent about current practices. We are NOT against work; we just want the fruits of our labor to be recognized better.
Our Philosophies:
- All workers must be paid a living wage for their labor.
- Income inequality is the main cause of lower living standards.
- Workers must join together and fight back for what is rightfully theirs.
- We must not be divided and conquered. Workers gain the most when they focus on unifying issues.
Our Goals
- Higher wages for underpaid workers.
- Better worker representation, including but not limited to unions.
- Better and fewer working hours.
- Stimulating a massive wave of worker organizing in the United States and beyond.
- Organizing and supporting political causes and campaigns that put workers first.
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There is no part of the OC that suggests a positive or negative moral or ethical assessment of the behaviors they described.
That is an easier argument to attack than what was actually described (a series of cause and effect), projected onto the scenario provided in the OC.
Acknowledging the motivations and logic of others, even those you disagree with, is not an endorsement of them. It is a fact that what OC described is how the history of capitalism played out in practice (with a large spoonful of corrupt lobbying to drive those wages down and profits for capital holders up).
I hope that clears things up. You weren't "just asking a question". You were presuming a specific answer and asking them to verify your presumption. If you were genuinely asking a question about how it was read, you could have easily said "I read the OC to imply that workers should be exploited. Is that the fact you're referring to? I ask because that seems too callous to be true."
I strongly disagree. Here are some examples of what I read as setting up what the capitalist was saying as positive:
I didn't attack it. I said I didn't know if it was positive or negative, because it presents the capitalist as reasonable while he says vile things about the workers.
I honestly don't know if we are talking about the same OC. Do you mean the top comment on the chain or the image in the post?
I certainly didn't frame it as "just asking questions." I was genuinely confused when I was asked:
When the comment the reacted to (replied to) was mine.
I finally figured it out that they meant "where in my reply did I say that".
As I have explained already, I was stating how I read it and asking if this is what they were referring to as true.
I think it's absurd to tell people how they should communicate online. I'm sure that wording would have been clearer to you, but it's not the intuitive wording to me. Not everyone speaks english the same way. That's why it's better to assume good intent and ask questions.
Every single line you quoted is an accurate representation of how capitalism works, independent of whether you think it's good/evil.
The only one you get partial credit for is the last quote, because modern capitalists are so divorced from everyday operations that even those things are farmed out to other employees.
You hold a large amount of responsibility for how your readers/listeners interpret your words. It is neither fair not effective communication to phrase things however you like and then wash your hands of the interpretation.
Your phrasing used an extremely common manipulation tactic, whether you meant to or not (asking a question with a premise that has not been established, e.g. "when did you start beating your wife?" when nobody has established I'm even married). That's on you, not the reader, to fix.
Though I don't fully believe you're being genuine here or your very first response when countered would have been "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend, what I meant was X".