The Discourse on Work in the Debate over a Living Wage

• In Event: Studies in the Rhetorical Potential and Limitations of Liberalism and Radicalism in Democracy

Abstract

Central to the living wage debate is the circulation of images – of people on minimum wage and those who are not. This paper investigates the ways in which images of poor people are invoked, constituted, and employed as arguments about an increase in the minimum wage. This paper also explores the rhetorical image of the low income worker and discusses implications of imagining for counterpublics and the political engagement of the public.

Author

• Pamela Conners, Univ of Wisconsin, Madison