Memes

People help other people because it makes them feel good. And people expect themselves to be noticed or praised or rewarded, even if they tell themselves and everyone else that they don’t.

People want their labor to be recognized. But you don't need to wield an Elon Musk level of deranged dictatorial financial clout in order to experience self-actualization for your efforts.

Pride in your work also comes with a degree of autonomy and creative freedom. A draconian profit driven privatized capitalist restaurant or clinic or school isn't going to care whether the staff feed or heal or educate anymore. All they care about is driving up profits. By contrast, a (good) chef cares that people like the food. They care about evolving their craft. They care about the experience they are producing, even when that may mean the dish doesn't make someone else money.

There's a balance to be struck between enterprises with scarce resources and people with a desire to feel accomplished in their craft.

But you can strike that balance with good administrative leadership. The reward for a day's work can be a beautiful place to live and a happy neighborhood, rather than a single incredibly rich guy hosting an award show for his pet favorites and using these token elites as an excuse to make the rest of his staff live in poverty.