Rewarded for intellectual contributions?

[Stortebeker]

If somebody invents a super cool vacuum cleaner, or something and starts a business centered around that idea, why should they get paid the same as any other worker? Should they not get paid more?
How would intellectual contributions be awarded in a Communistic society?

[MarxSchmarx]

If somebody invents a super cool vacuum cleaner, or something and starts a business centered around that idea, why should they get paid the same as any other worker? Should they not get paid more?
How would intellectual contributions be awarded in a Communistic society?

The Canadian born American linguist and politician Samuel Hayakawa once noted that no man is born independent of society, completely isolated from the ideas of other people. Indeed, this basically restates einstein's point about "standing on the shoulder of giants". The super cool vacuum cleaner came after centuries of research in physics, engineering and education to enable this person to succeed. Why should an individual be credited as though they came up with this from scratch?

Production is inherently social, and the benefits thereof should thus be social.

As far as "intellectual contributions" in a communist society, I don't see why they deserve greater award any more than than an uber-buff lumberjack deserves for felling more trees or super-star athletes. Both are basically accidents of their birth to be able to accumulate such accolades. But if we believed that people should be richly rewarded for their genetic luck, then why not restore the privileges of feudalism?

[The Idler]

Under capitalism, intellectual contributions in research and development aren't rewarded because they're usually assigned to the company (not the worker) who sometimes keep them off the market if it is more profitable to do so. Alternating Current (AC) Power was undermined for reasons of profit.

[Dr Mindbender]

If somebody invents a super cool vacuum cleaner, or something and starts a business centered around that idea, why should they get paid the same as any other worker? Should they not get paid more?
How would intellectual contributions be awarded in a Communistic society?

Its not so much that people should be rewarded for inventing something, more that people should not be punished for being unable to climb the social ladder.

We should encourage everyone to be agents of creativity rather than making great men out of an elite few.

[Lanky Wanker]

The basic idea is that if you invent something cool, it's for the progression of society and the world in general, not for you to say "z0mg look at me", or at least from what I understand. So basically, higher pay shouldn't encourage you to work harder and make new things, you should work hard and try to help society because that's what the basic left wing idea works on. When people say to communists "don't you think people should be allowed to progress instead of being held down at the same level as everyone else?", a good reply to explain this I once heard was something along the lines of "yes, I think everyone should be allowed to progress as a person, not for money and material goods". I hope you get what I mean by that. Basically, all that is asked of you is that you work your hardest, and in return you get what you need/want.

[Sixiang]

If somebody invents a super cool vacuum cleaner, or something and starts a business centered around that idea, why should they get paid the same as any other worker? Should they not get paid more?
No. They shouldn't. We are social creatures and the product of our society and experiences in society. I'd like to point you to this beautiful poem:


No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as a manor of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

Of course, it isn't necessarily that simple, but I don't really want to write a huge exposition on Marx's idea of historical materialism right now.


How would intellectual contributions be awarded in a Communistic society?
We can name the invention after the inventor or we can simply just make it publicly known that some invention or discovery was made and everyone can say "Three cheers for the new invention/discovery" and everyone can pat the smart person on the back and say "good work, friend." And the smart person can wear a super special pin or sticker on their shirt that says "I invented/discovered x."

Or something like that.

[blake 3:17]

I think if someone makes a particularly valuable intellectual/scientific/artistic innovation/contribution that some form of tenure or pension should be made available them.

[Robocommie]

Jonas Salk. Guy invented a vaccine for polio, and stood to make millions, but when a reporter asked him who owned the patent, he said, "There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?" Because of his selflessness, millions of children benefited and were saved from polio.

[Sixiang]

Jonas Salk. Guy invented a vaccine for polio, and stood to make millions, but when a reporter asked him who owned the patent, he said, "There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?" Because of his selflessness, millions of children benefited and were saved from polio.

And meanwhile, a capitalist entrepreneur sought about a brave new business opportunity: owning the rights to the sun.

[Blake's Baby]

... einstein's point about "standing on the shoulder of giants"...

Newton's gibe about standing on the shoulders of giants, which was a dig at Hooke, who was very short. But apparently it was originally Bernard of Clairvaux who said 'we are like Dwarfs on the shoulders of Giants'.


...Production is inherently social, and the benefits thereof should thus be social...

Yeah, this. The ideas and techniques that lead to the new vacuum cleaner invention are part of the common culture of humanity, and the material, social and educational contribution that the rest of society made to produce the chap/ess who makes the discoveryt is total. They exist in a social reality which is the rest of the world.


...As far as "intellectual contributions" in a communist society, I don't see why they deserve greater award any more than than an uber-buff lumberjack deserves for felling more trees ...

As all contributions to society will be rewarded equally, ie by beiong part of society, it doesn't really matter. 'From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs unless he's invented a new vacuum cleaner in which case he can have 1.6 times his needs' is never going to work.

[MarxSchmarx]

... einstein's point about "standing on the shoulder of giants"... Newton's gibe about standing on the shoulders of giants, which was a dig at Hooke, who was very short. But apparently it was originally Bernard of Clairvaux who said 'we are like Dwarfs on the shoulders of Giants'.


Woops, thanks for the clarification - and all these years I'd been giving einstein that credit :blushing:

[Blake's Baby]

No worries, Einstein said many clever things, it's probably easier to assume anything wise was by him. Or Oscar Wilde of course.