What is the right to work?
Tcherneva
What is ELR? (tcherneva, 2)
stems form seeing unemployment as a monetary phenomenon
from Keynes - government should strive for an unemployment rate of less that 1%
because the government is the only institution that can divorce profitability from hiring, they are the ones who would enact this
a bottom-up approach - trying to help the least desirable in the private sector, whereas an increase in aggregate demand would have greater effects on those at the top
no skills means test - anyone gets a job
ELR workers perform work that is socially relevant and that the private sector fails to do (Tcherneva, 6)
perhaps working in care, cleaning may be examples of ELR work?
ELR functions as buffer stock - government has increased spending which is reduced as the economy grows and more people enter private work (Tcherneva, 11 has a great diagram)
Standing
'work' and 'employment' are sometimes counted as one and the same (Standing, 21)
who can provide jobs?
must be the state, can't be private employers (seems ridiculous)
is the right to work enforced (Daskal) or not (Paulina)?
can't tell private employers to sacrifice profits to employ people
seems to be supported by two main principles
1: people ought to have financial security
2: a slightly nebulous idea that work is good, and part of what makes us human (see Steinvorth, 102)
this comes in a few forms
right to satisfying work (Cullen)
right to be a citizen (Daskal)
work is adapting nature and is an essential part of being human (Steinvorth)
Steinvorth also makes thedistinction between the noble 'work' and the undesirable labour, or employment (Steinvorth, 100 ish)
unemployment is only bad if you don't have enough money to spend. The idle rich can be very happy