You can revolt in a sort of Soviet Revolution, just as you can organize a strike asking for a salary raise. However, merely asking individually for a higher salary or threatening to quit is only effective if there is a labor shortage or if you possess specific expertise. If you can be replaced within a day, you’re screwed. There is something Molochian about the low-wage trap. I can imagine a society with one god-emperor employer and the rest of the population collectively locked in a societal low-wage trap. Only cooperation can overcome this, but it is hard to do that in a soft way, not hurting anyone. A change can only appear net negative to the upper class. And also, maybe the god-emperor employer solution, or merely an oligarchy of god-emperors employers to keep competition in play, is the more effective model on a macro scale (thinkers close to the rationalist community, like Hanson, are highly critical of the Western liberal-democratic system and display some fascination with the macro-efficiency of more hierarchical and less egalitarian societies). There is probably a tradeof micro/macro. But micro scale definitely matters. There is no sense in a very effective and successful society where the vast majority individually suffers.
You can revolt in a sort of Soviet Revolution, just as you can organize a strike asking for a salary raise. However, merely asking individually for a higher salary or threatening to quit is only effective if there is a labor shortage or if you possess specific expertise. If you can be replaced within a day, you’re screwed. There is something Molochian about the low-wage trap. I can imagine a society with one god-emperor employer and the rest of the population collectively locked in a societal low-wage trap. Only cooperation can overcome this, but it is hard to do that in a soft way, not hurting anyone. A change can only appear net negative to the upper class. And also, maybe the god-emperor employer solution, or merely an oligarchy of god-emperors employers to keep competition in play, is the more effective model on a macro scale (thinkers close to the rationalist community, like Hanson, are highly critical of the Western liberal-democratic system and display some fascination with the macro-efficiency of more hierarchical and less egalitarian societies). There is probably a tradeof micro/macro. But micro scale definitely matters. There is no sense in a very effective and successful society where the vast majority individually suffers.