The price of ‘golden’ exploitation: How money flows from the super-rich to domestic workers support inequalities

Abstract

Wealthy people can afford full-time domestic staff at home to be served every day. Some of them spend huge amount of money in domestic service. Working for the rich, domestic workers thus receive wages, gifts and compensations in kind. They can potentially improve their standard of living. Why do super-rich pay so much for their household staff? Following the intuition of Paul Segal about inequality as entitlement over labor, I argue that money as entitlement over labor rests on what I call the ‘golden’ exploitation of the workforce. Substantial rewards do not call into question the exploitative relationship. High value gifts and high salary support exploitation even in situations where it is most likely to be undermined. The case of the ‘super-rich’ domesticity illustrates a hidden production of social inequalities: money compensates for the unlimited drudgery of the employees.