If they wanted to, all workers could refuse to work for wages and instead form their own producers' cooperatives and wait for years for their pay until the products are sold to the consumers; the fact that they do not do so, shows the enormous advantage of the capital investment, wage-paying system as a means of allowing workers to earn money far in advance of the sale of their products. Far from being exploitation of the workers, capital investment and the interest-profit system is an enormous boon to them and to all of society.

Murray Rothbard

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the case is even stronger than this. it’s not just that they get paid first, it’s that their pay is guaranteed. if everybody were truly sharing risks and rewards, then the company making a loss would have to be clawed back from workers too and they’d effectively have a negative salary.