Microblog Memes

this desire to be treated reverently by someone of lower status is something deeply engrained in humanity, I doubt it’s ever going away.

This can be overcome, just as we already (mostly) overcame men's desire to look down at women as lesser beings, or look at people of other tribes/nations/races as slaves to be exploited. It's not complicated, humans are social beings, and tend to like whatever is considered "good" in their social circles; we as a society have the power to redefine what "good" means.

To look at people in capitalist society and conclude that human nature is egoism, is like looking at people in a factory where pollution is destroying their lungs and saying that it is human nature to cough

What’s the difference compared to an office worker indirectly paying the janitor to clean his toilet?

There is a bit of a difference here though: it takes time and logistical effort (e.g. getting cleaning supplies) to clean a toilet; it doesn't take almost any time or effort to pick up your own food from the kitchen, the only effort exerted by the waiter is that of "service", which is the problematic part. I agree it would be good if all workers had one shift of their week cleaning their workspace though, it would provide useful perspective and eliminate a lot of bad habits that makes the cleaner's job unnecessarily difficult.

They chose the job and are getting paid for it. Maybe it’s degrading, but everyone’s got to start somewhere. Remove those jobs and these people just won’t make money, which is just a worst outcome for everyone involved.

This is incorrect, they didn't "choose" the job, they are forced to do it because they can't get any other job and they will die on the streets if they don't take it. If we provide better education opportunities and stop stealing value from labor, there would be no need in useless "entry-level" jobs. Perhaps there would still be a need for janitors and garbage collectors and such, but those jobs have to be well-paid and taken seriously, just as any other job; it has to really be a choice rather than something forced upon poor people who can't get education in our fucked up society.