Just Wage

Alasdair MacIntyre explains that when speaking of justice, we are always faced with the question of “whose justice” and which tradition. The idea of what constitute “just wages” is no exception. Among several visions of justice in relationship to wages, two tend to dominate: (1) a “market” or “strategic” notion and (2) an Aristotelian/Thomistic or virtue notion. Both sides agree that a just wage is fair and equitable compensation for work; however what constitutes fairness in the determination of a just wage is the basis of significant controversy. At the heart of the difference between the two traditions is the nature of the “good” that is exchanged in the wage between the employer and the employee, which this entry will address.