y of
the wage income and of the wage earners--by which is meant that the
wages of all groups should be regarded as part of one general wage
income, to be shared out among all wage earners in as nearly equal
proportions, as is practicable, without special favor to any one. And,
secondly, what may be called for a lack of a better name, the doctrine
of special reward--by which is meant, that the wage differentials
between the standard wage levels of different types of labor should be
regarded as special rewards, given in order to make it reasonably
certain that industry will be provided with at least the existing
proportion of the more skilled grades of labor, and to make it
reasonably certain also that the more arduous, irregular, dangerous and
disagreeable work will command the service of as much labor as at
present.

It should be observed, first of all, that neither of these two
doctrines upholds the rights of particular groups of wage earners. They
aim to bring all wage earning groups to perceive that they are part of a
larger whole; they emphasize the fact that the wages of each group are
what they are, more because the total wage income is what it is, than
because of the special type of work performed by the group. They,
however, recognize the necessity of giving extra reward for the training
and skill or natural ability required for particular kinds of work, for
more than common danger or disagreeableness incurred in the performance
of particular kinds of work, and the like--in short, for all those
factors which elevate a job above what is called common labor.

As an applied doctrine, the doctrine of the unity of wage income and of
the wage earners means that the same wage should be paid throughout
industry for work which requires approximately the same human qualities,
and which makes approximately the same demands upon the individual. The
common effort involved in production is emphasized, rather than the
differences between the work performed by workers in different parts of
the field of production. As an applied doctrine, the doctrine of extra
reward means that certain groups of wage earners should receive higher
wages than other groups, because the work they perform is deemed to
require considerably higher individual qualities or talents, or to make
considerably greater demands upon the individuals engaged upon it.[140]
The extra reward should not be regarded primarily as an ethical right;
but rather as a pay