# Hourly Pay Is Modern Slavery

Source: https://www.yegor256.com/2015/07/21/hourly-pay-modern-slavery.html

What is the difference between a slave and a free man? A slave
has a master. That master, a cruel and ruthless villain, is telling the slave what
to do and punishing him at will. However, at the same time, the master
guarantees food and a roof over the slave's head. A slave understands
this exchange of freedom for food as a fair trade, while a free man
values freedom more. That's the difference. That's how it was in the
Roman empire centuries ago. But isn't that how it is now too? Aren't we
ancient slaves in our offices and in front of our monitors?


{% jb_picture_body %}

This post is partially provoked by a recently published semi-historical book
[_How to Manage Your Slaves_](https://amzn.to/2crHiNG)
by Jerry Toner. However, there's more. The entire eXtremely Distributed
Software Development ([XDSD](https://www.xdsd.org)) methodology
is based on a primary fundamental principle that states,
"Everyone gets paid for verified deliverables." They're not paid for their time
per hour, per week, or per month, but rather for verified deliverables.
What is the difference and what does all this have to do with slavery?
Let's see.

{% jttu falx2014manage %}

My point here is that any payment schedule based on time instead of results
is turning us into slaves.

Here is an example. Say I'm a software developer and I need some money
to pay my bills, buy a car, rent a house, and enjoy my life. I have
some skills for that. I can write Java software. I find a company that needs
my skills. It hires me, and we sign a contract. The contract says I have
to be in the
[office]({% pst 2015/oct/2015-10-06-how-to-be-good-office-slave %})
from 9 until 5 and I have to do what my boss tells
me to do. In exchange, I will get paychecks every few weeks, which will
cover my expenses.

{% youtube ODxm7w2DE-g %}

Doesn't it look similar to what I just said above about ancient slaves? The
master (a.k.a. CEO) tells me what to do and punishes me at will;
in exchange, he gives me food and safety.

The problem here is not about
[punishment]({% pst 2016/jan/2016-01-05-how-to-punish-employees %}).
This model of work makes me _think like a slave_. I think this is a fair
exchange---I give away my freedom (my time), and I get back food and
safety. I'm a slave not because the master is punishing me and I'm sitting
all day long in fetters. Absolutely not. A slave is not the one who was
captured and imprisoned. A slave is one who thinks slavery is
a fair way of management.

Letting someone tell me what to do with my time in order to get food
in return is exactly what slavery is about.

What is freedom, then? How should a free man make money?

{% quote A free man sells results, not time %}

A free man sells the _results of his work_. A free man cleans someone's house
and bills him when the work is done. A free man drives passengers
from the airport to their home and bills them when they get there.
A free man creates a software module and bills the client when it's ready.
A free man translates a document and bills per page. A free man
cooks a cake and bills for it.

A free man sells results, not time.

Also, a free man takes care of the food and security on his or her own.

Is it more risky? Yes. Is it more stressful? Yes.
But that's what freedom is about.

This is my favorite quote from the book:
"a good slave is loyal, hard-working and vigilant."

Think about it.