&gt; The way I see it, if the people could generate more value self-employed, they would do it!<p>Nah. The &quot;Losers&quot; in MacLeod&#x27;s hierarchy are explicitly choosing to leave extractable value on the table (this being the thing they&#x27;re &quot;losing&quot;) in exchange for being allowed to slack. Most people do not have the willpower to be entrepreneurs; in fact, much the opposite—most people want a job that requires as little willpower of them as possible.