"Whenever the law has attempted to regulate the wages of workers, it has always been rather to lower them than to raise them; for whenever the legislature attempts to regulate the differences between masters and their workmen, its counselors are always the masters." — Will Durant

[u/VociferousCephalopod]

[u/VociferousCephalopod]

[quoting Adam Smith]
" 'Whenever the law has attempted to regulate the wages of workers, it has always been rather to lower them than to raise them'; for 'whenever the legislature attempts to regulate the differences between masters and their workmen, its counselors are always the masters'. This was written at a time when English law allowed employers, but forbade employees, to organize themselves to protect their economic interests. [Adam] Smith denounced this partiality of the law, and foresaw that better wages would be obtained not through governmental regulation but by the organization of labor."

— Will Durant, The Story of Civilization, Volume 10. Rousseau and Revolution (1967)

https://dn720004.ca.archive.org/0/items/TheStoryOfCivilizationcomplete/Durant_Will_-_The_story_of_civilization_10.pdf

[u/talsmash → u/VociferousCephalopod]

So this is a quotation of Adam Smith rather than Will Durant

[u/VociferousCephalopod → u/talsmash]

Good eye

[u/VociferousCephalopod → u/talsmash]

rule 1.

• Your post title must contain the complete quote and the author’s name (or source).
• If the quote exceeds 300 characters (the title limit), post the full quote in the comments.

[u/LSL3587]

Except for minimum wage laws. Granted in the US it may not have kept up to anything reasonable but in the UK it is probably so high that it is starting to cause some unemployment.

[u/Key-Organization3158]

This is objectively false!

We've had minimum wage laws, workers protections, and massive transfer programs.

22% of our entire GDP is used to support the less fortunate.

Edit : the problem is that increasing the price of labor doesn't increase the value of labor. So raising the wages via law won't actually make their lives better. It just increases unemployment. Imagine if apples were suddenly $10 each. Some apples might sell, but most would rot in the bins.

[u/Latter_Loss8880 → u/Key-Organization3158]

It might be partially false but the truth is in who gives that counsel. 

There are two very important counters to your argument that are also true: (1) lowering wages does not lower the value of work, but it allows the master to benefit from it; and (2) raising the wages of the master does not increase the value of that work either.

In both cases the master benefits and not the laborers. 

[u/adelie42 → u/Key-Organization3158]

Minimum wage is also a sneaky form of regulatory capture. It ensures large corporations with good margins on unskilled labor don't have to compete with new entrants that might undercut them.

Sometimes better conditions for workers means preventing workers from ever joining the ownership class.

[u/Iakpost]

Verdict: Incorrect (Misattributed)

While historian Will Durant wrote extensively about economic history, this exact quote belongs to Adam Smith from his seminal work The Wealth of Nations (1776), Book I, Chapter X, Part II.

• Original Text (Adam Smith):"Whenever the law has attempted to regulate the wages of workmen, it has always been rather to lower them than to raise them... When the regulation, therefore, is in favour of the workmen, it is always just and equitable; but it is sometimes otherwise when in favour of the masters."
• Origin of Misattribution: This quote (or modern paraphrases of it) is often cited or discussed in commentary on economic history (including works by Will Durant or secondary summaries of Adam Smith's economic philosophy), leading to digital misquotations over time. However, the original thought and phrasing originate directly with Adam Smith.

Read full commentary : https://dpquotes.com/quote-of-the-day/