I liked the article but there is no conundrum here:
> the very fact that tube workers can paralyse London shows that their work is actually necessary, but this seems to be precisely what annoys people
Yes, people are not paid in accordance to the direct tangible benefit their work brings. Salaries are broadly determined by the same laws of supply and demand that determine prices for other stuff.
Tube workers are not seen as worthy of high compensation, or high-status in general, because people believe, correctly or not, that it's easy to do the job. On the other hand, programmers usually command high wages, despite being viewed as nerds and rather low-status, because it's hard to replace one.
Some professions may have an artificially constricted supply, through regulations for example, which throws those observations off a bit.
> It’s even clearer in the US, where Republicans have had remarkable success mobilizing resentment against school teachers
I'd argue that if you replaced school teachers with babysitters, the only catastrophe would be all those damaged egos.
>I'd argue that if you replaced school teachers with babysitters, the only catastrophe would be all those damaged egos.
The keyword you used is "replaced", not "do away with". Actually I think an argument could be made that teacher pay does already treat them somewhat as babysitters. Babysitters would likely be more expensive on an hour * kids basis than teachers given current babysitter rates.
Anyways, you are right, wages are determined by "supply and demand", unfortunately collective bargaining is seen as a bad thing, whereas I see it just as another way for a truly "free market" to communicate the value of a job.
> the very fact that tube workers can paralyse London shows that their work is actually necessary, but this seems to be precisely what annoys people
Yes, people are not paid in accordance to the direct tangible benefit their work brings. Salaries are broadly determined by the same laws of supply and demand that determine prices for other stuff.
Tube workers are not seen as worthy of high compensation, or high-status in general, because people believe, correctly or not, that it's easy to do the job. On the other hand, programmers usually command high wages, despite being viewed as nerds and rather low-status, because it's hard to replace one.
Some professions may have an artificially constricted supply, through regulations for example, which throws those observations off a bit.
> It’s even clearer in the US, where Republicans have had remarkable success mobilizing resentment against school teachers
I'd argue that if you replaced school teachers with babysitters, the only catastrophe would be all those damaged egos.