...two points that he made.
One is that reward means more money. I would climb down that mine shaft deep into the earth for NO MONEY if I knew that I could save the child at the bottom. No amount of money in the world could replace that reward.
Which leads to the other statement you made about us being in a "Democratic-Socialistic" society.
I think your definition of reward helps to support my beleif that we live in a "Plutocratic-Socialistic" society.
Other than that, yes I agree that the rewards make the jobs seem more or less bearable.

Matt