Britain and the Right to Work: 1886–1912
by Victor Quirk
International Journal of Environment, Workplace and Employment (IJEWE), Vol. 3, No. 3/4, 2007

Abstract: Modern opponents of full employment are strategically disinclined to openly defend their position, which creates distortion in the debate over direct methods of establishing full employment, such as the Job Guarantee. This study explores opposition to the full employment policy of the early British Labour Party known as the 'Right to Work' (RTW), which proposed that the state directly employ the unemployed in fully paid work of public benefit. Hostility to the RTW prior to and during the first decade of the 20th century is examined, including its abandonment by the Labour Party in 1911 in favour of unemployment insurance for some and labour exchanges. This episode supports the thesis that unemployment is preserved as a repulsive incentive to work and hence as an instrument of social domination.

Online publication date: Sun, 06-Jul-2008

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