[rmrfstar]

> it views the system that we have as fundamentally meritocratic

Agreed. There is another dimension to it as well. Labor pricing is set by "replacement cost."

In a country where workers have been made precarious intentionally [1], replacement cost will be much lower than (a) the surplus value created by the worker, (b) the risk a worker bares in work activities.

There is empirical evidence that this is taking place on a grand scale. [2]

[1] https://chomsky.info/20120508/

[2] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jofi.12909

[Robotbeat]

Does this imply there aren’t enough employers, so that collusion among employers is feasible?

[rmrfstar]

Feasible and documented [1], but I think that labor monopsony is only part of the issue.

Why are fast food workers signing non-competes, arbitration clauses, and NDA's [2]. The whole balance of power is out of wack.

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/apr/24/apple-goo...

[2] https://www.natlawreview.com/article/state-attorneys-general...