Comparative Wage Justice

Abstract

At present comparative wagejustice is unpopular and largely undefended, but critics generally conflate different versions of the doctrine. A core version is that identical jobs should be paid equally. Extended versions advocate proportional payment of different jobs and maintenance of established relativities. These claims have immediate policy importance in their own right, but they also bear on wider views, including views about collective bargaining and industry unions. Comparative wagejustice can be defended on philosophical grounds derived from the classic principle of justice that equals should be rewarded equally and unequals in proportion to their differences. Even so, comparative wage justice is not an absolute requirement. It can be outweighed by countervailing factors. The extended versions are, however, more likely to be outweighed than the core version.