Perhaps -- "the baseline is a decent life". Lots of people are willing to work really hard for perks and glory -- honestly, you can even take more risks if you're young and you know your life's not on the line

> the baseline is a decent life

The trouble with that is the same reason communism fails - too many people decide to just live off of the work of others, and play video games all day.

Also, who is going to work as a janitor? Most jobs are not filled with glory. They're tedious - that's why they are called "work".