How Can We Make Work Satisfying?

     Last time we saw that everyone's goal in life is to
increase their satisfaction.  The things we value most are those
that contribute the most to our satisfaction.  We plan and work
to use our resources to create things that increase our
satisfaction.

     We also encountered a possible speed bump on our road
to satisfaction.  In our trading economy our work mainly
contributes to the satisfaction of others.  We use little of  what
we produce.  Most of what we use to increase our satisfaction is
produced by others.  Why should we all make the sacrifice of
working when the products of our work only bring satisfaction to
others?

     One way to keep people working to serve others is to
punish those who don't work for others.  The result is slavery. 
That system has a few flaws.

     Another way is to reward those who work and produce. 
To successfully encourage others to do something, we must
reward them for doing what we want them to do.  How hard
others work is of no importance to us, unless we simply enjoy
seeing others work.  Our satisfaction depends on the fruits of
labor, not the quantity of labor.  Work and jobs aren't ends in
themselves.  They are only means for producing the things that
increase our satisfaction.

     The value of a loaf of bread isn't measured by how hard
the farmer and the baker worked.  It is measured by how much
it contributes to our satisfaction.  If we reward workers based on
how hard they work, low productivity work is as valuable to
them as is high productivity work.  Don't expect those workers
to lay awake nights trying to figure out how to be more
productive.

     An item may contribute much more to the satisfaction of
one individual than to the satisfaction of another.  Only the
person who is seeking satisfaction can judge how much
satisfaction anything brings to him.  When individuals try to
choose what will satisfy others, they usually assume that the
things that satisfy themselves will satisfy others.

     The way that we can all produce for each other and still
get the things we find most satisfying should be obvious.  We
can voluntarily trade with each other.  When individuals trade,
each expects to gain more satisfaction from what he gets than
from what he gives up.  The act of trading increases value. 
Each trader has something more satisfying after the trade.

     With freedom to produce and trade we all must work to
produce the things that most satisfy others.  The more our
products satisfy others, the more they will give us in exchange.

     With total freedom to make honest trades, we need not
worry about exploitation.  The only way  we get satisfying
things from others is to reward them with satisfaction for
providing us with satisfying things.

     This principle applies to all interactions.  In freedom
others will serve us only for the satisfaction they gain.  The
giver gives because he expects the satisfaction from giving to
exceed that from any other use of the gift.  An individual goes
on a date or to a party because she believes it will be the most
satisfying use of her time and other resources.

     In all voluntary interactions everyone has powerful
incentives to serve the satisfaction of others to gain satisfaction
from others.  The way to make work satisfying is to maximize
the satisfaction we can gain for the exchange or other uses of the
products of our efforts.  Only complete freedom can achieve this
result.

     When we prohibit individuals from maximizing the
satisfaction gained from their work, we decrease their
willingness to work.  By forcibly interfering with their work, we
limit their ability to serve themselves by serving others.

     The ideal government limits its intervention to protecting
life, liberty and property.  Everything that government does that
interferes with the freedom to produce and trade makes us less
productive and less satisfied.

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Copyright 2013
Albert D. McCallum