Modding on either Reddit or Lemmy seems like a lot of work. It’s like a part time job where you don’t get paid. What do the mods get out of their labor?
they do it for free
Imo this gets to the crux of how “people don’t want to work” is such horseshit. People don’t mind, or even like working to share knowledge and build community. And when they have the capacity and free time, they’ll do it for no pay.
People don’t want to work at something that feels like it makes no difference in their world or the world, when they’re not getting treated well or paid enough. They’ll work at things that deserve it in their life.
I think you hit the nail on the head there. In fact one of the biggest sources of economic value for networks like Lemmy and Reddit is the free labor people are willing to do out of passion for the community.