> should we rethink the way we reward work to prioritize things that help society instead.
The problem is that everyone has different ideas about what helps society.
At least the current system, where people are compensated based on supply and demand, people actually want what's being produced. In contrast to the old soviet system where top down production decisions mean that what's "best for society" is of no use to pretty much anyone except those people who needed to fill their quota.
> The extreme here is underpaying the professors and researchers so much
The problem is not that those people are underpaid.
The problem is the morass of regulation that prevents people building enough housing where they want to live, which keeps the cost of housing high.
And look - I get it - most of that regulation is there for a reason: it's popular. People like it. People like having rent control, or limited increases in property taxes. People in single family houses like not having apartment buildings go up next door to them. People like seeing green space on office campuses. People like mandatory parking requirements for homes and businesses.
But ultimately, a high cost of living is deeply corrosive to society, and all the little perks that come from these regulations just aren't worth it.
> All forms of structuring society are "regulation"
If you're going to count the emergent structure that forms from voluntary cooperation as "regulation", the word loses its meaning.
> Capitalism doesn't exist without private property law.
Sure it does.
Laws aren't self-enforcing: the the thing that makes laws "real" is violence (or the threat of violence) backing them up.
For those who are unable to avail themselves of remedies under the law - typically because they're engaging in illegal behavior - they can skip the law bit and move straight to violence.
Basically every criminal organization or individual operates in this manner.
I'm not saying it's nice to live this way - I very much like living in a place with a (mostly) functioning legal system. But Capitalism very much does exist without private property law.
The problem is that everyone has different ideas about what helps society.
At least the current system, where people are compensated based on supply and demand, people actually want what's being produced. In contrast to the old soviet system where top down production decisions mean that what's "best for society" is of no use to pretty much anyone except those people who needed to fill their quota.