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Comment by golergka | Hacker News Reader

> on the backs of those working harder than ever

As a software engineer — no I don't. Sometimes I feel bad about earning a lot of money doing what I love, but at the same time, I know for sure that I don't exploit anyone, and that I got where I am only thanks to my own work. Yes, it's unfair that the world needs more software engineers than artists right now, and if I loved art more than code but that doesn't mean that I exploit anyone.

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You most likely do. The hardware you use is probably manufactured under much more severe conditions that under those you work. And what about the raw materials required to produce that hardware? Some of those are probably mined under much more harsh conditions.

The same goes for the clothes you wear, the food you eat etc. (though, to be fair it is easier to consciously buy better food and clothes today than hardware).

I often felt bad working in the software business because of the issues with hardware manufacturing. You can buy locally produced clothes and food, and you can often figure out under what conditions they are made under. With hardware, not so much.

That's a bit disingenuous. By that logic, everyone exploits people, so the baseline just rises to that, making the GP's statement "I didn't exploit any more people than everyone else", which is more or less true.

Yes, I use products that are made by people that fare worse than me. This statement will stay true forever for any member of the middle class, unless humanity will get rid of money, and enters post-scarcity economy of Star Trek (which would've been called communism, if wasn't such a loaded world). But it doesn't mean that I exploit those people in any way.

You are the customer of those who do exploit those people though. We're all complicit in this, but I think it's equally disingenuous to wash one's hands of all exploitation in supply chain they benefit from simply because they don't directly make the decision to exploit someone. You're fortunate to work in an industry where workers have enough leverage to combat the exploitation rampant in other industries.

And it is not inevitable, we could end (or at least minimize) the violent, chaotic exploitation without needing a post-scarcity economy in my opinion.

> those who do exploit those people though

I don't think that a majority of these people are exploited. Some are, and it definitely happens more often than to people like you and me (going from the assumptions that hacker news is a website for software developers, I have trouble picturing a developer who falls into "really poor people" category), but still — not always. More often it's just market reality that create these kind of conditions.

>I know for sure that I don't exploit anyone,

You might not directly exploit anyone, but you (and I) are making tools that make it easier for others to exploit people. I mean, let's take Amazon's warehouses, for example. Would Amazon be able to push its warehouse workers as hard it does without the software that manages inventory and tells warehouse employees exactly where to go and when? I doubt it. But that software didn't magically spring into existence. It was written, by a team of programmers and iteratively improved until it allowed Amazon to push its warehouse workers as hard as it does today.

So no, we software developers not exploit anyone, but that doesn't mean that we're not complicit in exploitation.

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