最低工资制度的公平性分析

Fairness Analysis of the Minimum Wage System

“最低工资制度”是维护分配公正的一项重要制度。对这项制度不仅需要从经济学角度对其实施效果进行评估,还需要从政治哲学角度对其公平性进行分析。在马克思的劳动价值学说中,最低工资就是劳动者在必要劳动时间中创造的价值。在当代政治哲学研究中,罗尔斯的公平合作理论、德沃金的公平保险理论以及阿玛蒂亚·森所代表的能力平等理论分别为最低工资制度的公平性提供了3种哲学论证。政治哲学的分析不仅肯定了最低工资制度的公平性,也为“最低工资”应该依据“绝对”标准还是“相对标准”来设定指明了方向。依据罗尔斯的公平合作理论,“最低工资”应该依据相对标准,参照社会其他阶层的工资水平来设定。依据德沃金的公平保险学说和森的能力学说,最低工资应该依据“绝对标准”,参照特定社会中生活必需品的价格来设定。

The minimum wage system is an important institute to maintain distributive justice. To evaluate this system, we need not only to evaluate its implementation effect from the perspective of economics, but also to analyze its fairness from the perspective of political philosophy. In Marx’s theory of labor value, the minimum wage is the value created by workers in the necessary working time. In the study of contemporary political philosophy, Rawls’ theory of fair cooperation, Dworkin’s theory of fair insurance and Amartya Sen’s theory of equal capacity provide three philosophical arguments for the fairness of the minimum wage system. The analysis of political philosophy not only affirms the fairness of the minimum wage system, but also points out how the minimum wage should be set. According to Rawls’ theory of fair cooperation, “minimum wage” should be set according to a relative standard, considering the wage level of other social groups. According to Sen’s capacity theory and Dworkin’s fair insurance theory, the minimum wage should be set according to an “absolute standard”, according to the price of necessities in a certain society.