THE GLOBAL UNEMPLOYMENT PANDEMIC AND ITS CONSEQUENCES FOR INCOME DISTRIBUTION
The article considers the intensifying global unemployment crisis—now particularly acute in face of the global financial crisis—in the context of the technological transformation of the world economy since the 1970s, driven mainly by the electronic and digital "revolutions." This has led t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Pluto Journals
2010-06-01
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| Series: | World Review of Political Economy |
| Online Access: | https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.2307/41942919 |
| Summary: | The article considers the intensifying global unemployment crisis—now particularly acute in face of the global financial crisis—in the context of the technological transformation of the world economy since the 1970s, driven mainly by the electronic and digital "revolutions." This has led to an ever rising structural labor surplus—along with a corresponding rise in the structural excess of capital. The resulting rise in productive capacity beyond the market's absorptive capacity must now be seen as permanent. Consequently the model of global economy based on a competitive struggle for markets is no longer tenable, given that a growing proportion of actual or potential capacity is bound to remain unutilized. The problem is further exacerbated by ever more severe environmental constraints to economic growth. Since public policy can no longer be based on the priority of maximizing production and growth it follows that in future access to markets and shares of value added must be regulated on the basis of equitable distribution. This means that the state must assure a minimum standard of income security to all citizens as of right, while opportunities for earning additional income must be effectively rationed within a more collectivist economic and social framework. |
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| ISSN: | 2042-891X 2042-8928 |