Market forces cannot explain the structure of pay. At best they function as proxies for class power. A class theory of the structure of pay ex plains earnings inequalities in terms of unequal capacities distributed through the working class to resist the power of capital. Political resources facilitate the resistance (and exercise) of class power. A model of an opportunity structure for the development of political resources is outlined and applied to an analysis of Australian census data on the earnings of migrants and non-migrants.
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