Question

How did the relationship between growth, wages and corporate wealth/power evolve over time

Answer 1

In the industria revolution and the ensuing capitalism, growth was the primary concern. Then with the advent of Marxism, wages also acquired a prominent place in public discourse. However, profits again became the major benchmark for judging enterprise performance. The benefits of growth accruing to capital holders were unlimited whereas wages were fixed and limited. Government encouraged capital investment by making dividend incomes tax free. There were no such rebaes however for wage earners. This led to significant wealth concentration among equity holders. These equity holders in turn started getting close to power circles. While the same power circles were more accountable to labour unions earlier, the slow and steady 'normalization' of labour issues made it politically correct to be seen close to big wealth owners.