Consider the jobs in a chicken-processing facility. Much like a manufacturing assembly line, a chicken-processing facility is organized around a moving conveyor system. Even the titles of the jobs are unsavory. The work is obviously distasteful, and the pace of the work is unrelenting. In some plants, taking an unauthorized bathroom break can result in suspension without pay. Besides being unpleasant and dirty, many jobs in a chicken-processing plant are dangerous and unhealthy. The work space itself is so tight that the workers often cut themselvesand sometimes their coworkerswith the knives, scissors, and other instruments they use to perform their jobs. Jobs such as these in the chicken-processing facility are actually becoming increasingly common.

Are dirty, dangerous, and unpleasant jobs an inevitable part of any economy?