Why are salaries systemically too low, even in essential jobs? The answer lies in a profit-driven economy where wages are not based on the real value of labor but on what can be withheld to maximize surplus. Employers reverse-engineer salaries to protect margins, while workers—trapped by survival needs and cultural obedience—lack the leverage to demand more. From an Eidoist perspective, this imbalance is not just economic but psychological: recognition replaces compensation, with praise, titles, and “team spirit” offered in place of structural fairness. True reform begins when labor is valued by the form it sustains—not by how well it performs in a hierarchy built on extraction and illusion.
