Dr. Robert Francis Allen
A worker is a slave who is free to choose another master, making a capitalist a slaveholder who must reckon with the possibility of his chattels seeking other bondsmen. Had African-American slaves been allowed to choose their plantations, they would have been as free as today's workers. In a capitalistic society, exploitation is inescapable for those unable or unwilling to become capitalists themselves. But why is exploitation evil? It is theft, plain and simple. The capitalist steals her workers' time.
"Since 1948, ... the level of productivity of the US worker has more than doubled. In other words, we could now produce our 1948 standard of living in less than half the time it took that year. We actually could have chosen the four hour day. Or every worker could now be taking every other year off from work- with pay. Incredible as it may sound, this is just the simple arithmetic of productivity growth in operation." (Juliet Schor, The Overworked American)
"According to the International Labor Organization, Americans now work 1978 hours annually, a full 350 hours- nine weeks- more than Western Europeans. The average American actually worked 199 hours more in 2000 than he or she did in 1973, a period during which worker productivity doubled. What happened? In effect, the United States as a society took all of its increases in labor productivity in the form of money and stuff instead of time. Of course, we didn't all get the money; the very poor earn even less than they did then, and the largest share of the increase went to the richest Americans." (John de Graaf, The New York Times, 4/12/'03)
"Come to me , all you who labor and are burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew, 11: 28-30)