"If you think this system is working, ask someone who isn't," has become
a common slogan among the people. Now, the media is reporting that
unemployment levels have hit a seven-year low of 5.1%. Apart from the fact
that this figure ignores the millions who have given up searching for work,
and the youth who can't find a way into the job market, what is striking is
that the media claims this unemployment rate is too low.
Why don't the headlines say, "Tens of millions still unemployed."
Shouldn't a goal of the economy be to eliminate unemployment? Not so,
according to the government and monopoly media. No, according to economic
"experts," unemployment under 5.5% is too low. Too many jobs are being
created. The economy has to be slowed down or the increase in jobs will mean
increased wages, which will mean higher inflation. It's as though more jobs
and higher wages are bad for the economy.
People are presented with a false choice. Supposedly, it's necessary to
choose between lower unemployment or higher inflation. This disinformation
diverts people from the reality most face--tremendous job insecurity. And
from the fact that the economy can be organized to eliminate unemployment
and provide higher wages. The concept of "too many" jobs exists only in the
context of a capitalist economy, where jobs are incidental to the making of
capitalist profit.
Unemployment and job insecurity have been fellow-travelers of capitalism
since day one. They have their source in the capitalist drive for maximum
profits. This requires a constant effort to produce goods more cheaply. This
is done through intensifying the exploitation of the workers--forcing fewer
workers to produce more--and through technical innovation, automation,
driving down wages, etc. This creates unemployment. In the context of the
fierce competition of the global economy, with giant multinationals moving
production around the globe, the dislocation of the economy and the
unemployment that goes with it have been devastating.
The issue which needs to be addressed, and the one hidden by all the
disinformation is: Why not change the basis of the economy? We are about to
enter the 21st century. Why not eliminate job insecurity and unemployment?
Why not organize the economy to meet the needs of the people, making a
livelihood a guaranteed right of all?
In the wake of the recent news on unemployment, Clinton is being hailed
as a "successful economic manager." What does this mean? How come the
capitalist economy can be managed, but it supposedly can't be planned?
Capitalism is characterized by the anarchy of production. Each
corporation--its production, investments, research, etc.--are all planned to
the hilt. But the economy as a whole is not. With each monopoly, or sector
of the economy, maneuvering for its own self-interests, striving for maximum
profits, the economy as a whole is characterized by anarchy and chaos. There
is uneven development and overproduction, giving rise to periodic crises,
which in turn mean destruction of productive forces--factories closed, towns
destroyed, millions thrown on the streets. The whole history of capitalism
reveals these inherent characteristics.
Neither Clinton nor the economic "experts" can "manage" this anarchy and
the job insecurity and unemployment that goes with it. Nor can they "manage"
the drive for profits--it is insatiable, crushing everything in its path. So
long as the economy is based on the making of maximum profit, the ills of
increasing poverty, unemployment and job insecurity will remain. What the
government and monopoly media can manage is the disinformation provided
concerning the inherent nature of capitalist production. The choices are not
between unemployment and inflation, nor between "good" and "bad"
"management." The issue to discuss is: Can the economy be planned to meet
the needs of the people? What is necessary to organize such an economy?
The government and media prevent this discussion and divert attention to
false choices. They do not present an objective, accurate, factual analysis
of the economy and its problems. Without this, how are people going to
figure out how to solve problems like unemployment? How can the desire of
the people to secure their well-being, that of their children and society as
a whole be met? It is quite precisely to prevent this from occurring, to
prevent serious discussion and organizing to change the direction of the
economy, that disinformation is continually promoted.
Shawgi Tell
University at Buffalo
Graduate School of Education
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
