Dignity, hope, resilience. All dimensions of having a job according
to the World Bank. Who knew the caring, sharing World
Bank was so invested in the health, well-being and
emotional welfare of t millions of young people? No, of course it’s
not, the WB operates on behalf of the interests of the minority
capitalist class in the world. 1.2 billion jobs will be required
says the WB to provide employment for the number of young people who
will have to sell their labour power in order to live under a
capitalist system. The WB didn’t say that of course. Neither did it
mention surplus value, exploitation or class warfare.
So where are these jobs going to come from? Unlikely that there will
be that many because of retirees or people dropping out of the labour
market. What impact will AI have on the jobs which still require
actual humans? How many people will the reserve army of labour
‘employ’?
In England
from Henry Eight through to James First statutes were enacted that
threatened the most severe punishments, up to and including death,
for ‘sturdy vagabonds’ and ‘idlers’ who were not involved in
labour. ‘Punishment’ included whipping, branding and the
cutting off of body parts. Similar laws were enforced in France and
the Netherlands also.
When the ‘new’ workforce will have also to compete against AI and
new technologies designed to do away with human workers, will
capitalism be able to provide jobs that provide ‘dignity and hope’
Those terms are an oxymoron under capitalism. When these jobs don’t
materialise will we see capitalism revert to thedraconian laws of
previous centuries to force people to accept medieval coercion?
The below is from the Socialist Standard, August 2010
‘Don’t
get us wrong. We don’t want to play down the misery of those who
have lost their jobs – or the many more who are going to lose their
jobs – in the current slump. We know very well what losing your job
so often means. Losing your home (well, you thought it was yours!).
Even losing your family.
But
think. If not being employed was really the problem, wouldn’t you
expect everyone without a job to be in misery? But there are many
people who don’t have jobs and yet live well enough. People who
don’t need jobs.
Native
people in the Amazon rainforest, for so long as they manage to
preserve their old way of life, don’t need jobs. They have access
to land, food, wood, medicinal herbs, other resources they need –
to their means of life. When the logging and mining companies move
in, they lose access. Sure, then they need jobs.
Most
of us in the “developed” countries lost access to the means of
life long ago. They no longer belong to us. They were seized by a
small minority who claim to own them. These owners allow us access to
things we need only in exchange for money. If we can’t pay, they
would sooner have things go to waste – sooner leave houses empty,
for instance, than shelter the homeless. They allow us access to
productive resources only when they hire us to work for them. If we
try to get access without their permission, they call us criminals
and send their police and jailors to punish us.
These
people – the employers, the owners of the means of life – are
unemployed, every one of them. But it doesn’t bother them a bit!
They live on the income from their property. They too don’t need
jobs.
So
unemployment is a problem only for people who depend on being
employed in order to live. That situation of dependence is what we
mean by the real problem.
Some
of us try to escape from the situation of dependence by going into
business for ourselves. But chances of success are small – even in
good times, let alone during a slump. Many don’t seek escape at all
but appeal to the government to create more jobs, hoping to go back
to slaving away for others.
We
socialists don’t appeal for jobs. We don’t want jobs. That
doesn’t mean we’re lazy. We thirst for the opportunity to do
useful work as free, equal, and dignified human beings – work to
satisfy our needs and the needs of others. We want to be rid of an
absurd system that artificially creates misery and wastes vast
material, natural, and human resources. That is why we demand
restoration of access to the means of life – their common ownership
and democratic control by the whole community.’
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/2010/08/is-unemployment-really-problem.html
