In this paper I will look in to the negative social consequences of unemployment on the macro as well as micro levels within our society from the conflict theory perspective. Unemployment refers to the situation where an individual does not have the means to support themselves financially through a job. The conflict theory perspective basically refers to an outlook on things that is mostly negative. Using this perspective basically means that I will mainly focus on the unwanted results of unemployment.
With the introduction of machinery and technology in this day and age, unemployment has become a growing concern. Each day machines are being invented that are replacing human beings therefore saving company costs. This rapid growth of technology has led to more and more people losing their jobs.
This paper tackles the negative impact unemployment has on an individual in society. It seeks to explain those impacts and their effects. Unemployment may lead to several negative consequences as a result of desperation. Some of these results may be reversible while others may have a long-lasting effect on the individual.
The use of machinery to replace human labour has led to the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer (Kerbo, Coleman, p.6). Companies want to cut costs by using machinery; these results in the investors earning more profits while the working class members of society end up having even lower standards of living.
I will expound on these cons in the paper. The negative consequences are by far more than the positive consequences. And therefore, unemployment as a social problem needs to be solved in order to up the standard of living as well as curb social evils as a whole since if people are occupied, they will have less time to consider crime.
Usually when an employer is letting go of workers, it’s mostly the less fit lot that’s being let go. This goes to credit the theory that most unemployed people are not fit to work in their respective industries due to their lack of skill or some other unwanted shortcomings. There are however exceptions to this theory. Sometimes entire industries can become idle at the same time thus putting all the specialized workers in those particular industries out of work. This makes the pool of unemployed people both fit and unfit (Baumgarten, 2003).
Unemployment has adverse effects on the individual as well as society. Employment acts as a source of income and livelihood. Most people make their plans assuming a regular income. Therefore when they are rendered jobless, it lowers their standard of living. However, poverty is a result of unemployment only when the concerned individual remains unemployed for a long period of time. Even then it may not have such an adverse effect on the individual since he may have acquire enough asset holdings to last them and their family a lifetime or more (Darity & William, 1999). They may also have savings accumulate over the years; this can be enough to sustain them.
Unemployment affects different individuals differently. Its effects may not necessarily be negative as it depends on the temperament of the individual as well as sex and age. For instance, a younger man would bear unemployment better since his career path is just forming and he therefore is more motivated to remain hopeful and keep searching. A man with family on the other hand bears more responsibilities and may get easily frustrated and disinterested (Darity & William, 1999).
Unemployment may act as a motivating factor for some while at the same time it may drain some other people’s will to fight. Some individuals may find it as a reason to improve their skill set and keep going while others may be entirely put off and lose their self worth.
The skill or fitness of an individual has very little to do with whether or not they remain employed. It however has great effects on the consequences of unemployment. There are those who spiral downward fast thus being deemed less fit while there are those who will keep at it thus making them the stronger lot (Darity & William, 1999).
Unemployment has several negative effects on society. Firstly, it leads to reduction in produced goods and services (Baumgarten, 2003). The less the number of workers available, the less the amount in production; thereby leading to losses. Also, employment provides income and a source of livelihood as well as financial security. Its absence may result in those involved being in debt and facing lawsuits or poverty. This in turn leads to crime because due to desperation, the affected individuals seek out crime as the only avenue where they can get any money; thus making crime a direct consequence (Baumgarten, 2003).
Addiction to drugs is also a result that arises due to hopelessness. This promotes the use of drugs in the society as well as drug peddling. Unemployment has also been noted as a cause of homelessness, disputes within families due to bitterness, poor health among others. It also leads to poor parenting and prenatal care; this in turn leads to kids dropping out of school because their guardians cannot afford to keep paying the fees.
Due to the presence of unfavoured minority groups in society, ethnic or otherwise, unemployment seems to be higher in these circles than in others. This may be bring about ethnic antagonism. Some of these minorities include those with little education, the youth among others.
According to Karl Marx and his colleagues, technological innovation is more likely to be high when there are more people in employment than not. Therefore unemployment would consequently lead to less technological innovation. Due to this, there may be technological stagnation.
Unemployment also results in less private investment. The lower the rate of unemployment, the lower the rate of investment. It also leads to depreciation of acquired skills where labour is concerned because for as long as an individual is out of a job, he will remain out of practice and will not be as good as he was before.
Where society is concerned, unemployment can also lead to political instability. Governments need to address unemployment seriously as a social problem because it is the cause of a lot of social injustice as well as misery to people. Employment gives most people something to look forward to as well as something to live for. Its absence results in acting out through crime and unhealthy behaviour. The best way for the government to beat the problem that is unemployment is to ensure a good and strong economy. This is because a strong economy ensures continuous creation of employment opportunities (Feagin & Baker, 2005).
The causes of unemployment vary depending on one’s point of view. Most that argue on the basis of structural functionalism base their theories on structural environments such as economies or institutional environments. For instance, the rate of unemployment is higher among women than men. This is because the society we live in is structured in such a way that men dominate it and women’s roles are considered to be subservient. The response to this has been to create welfare groups that fight for the rights of women to make them equal to those of men (Feagin & Baker, 2005).
Structure can also be used in reference to race. It is well known that white people have always been considered superior to black people. Even in this day and age when racism is deemed a thing of the past, in a society where black people as well as white abide, white people always end up getting better more lucrative opportunities in comparison to black people. The rate of unemployment among black people is much higher than that of white people.
Economic factors based on structure include income as well as level of employment. This usually mostly depends on the level of education. The more learned one is, the higher the possibility of getting a well paying job at a good position. Unfortunately, education is not accessible to all members of society. Therefore only some members of society are privy to these positions (Feagin & Baker, 2005).
Social conflict can also be considered the root cause of unemployment. This may include key factors in society such as class, sex and race. As earlier discussed, we have seen that the rate of unemployment is much higher among women than men. Men have always been considered the domineering sex in society and therefore most of what is in society is to cater for the male’s needs. Women have been sort of an afterthought. Therefore most jobs are suited for men while women are to menial household tasks. However, women have evolved and can now do most of the things a man can. Despite that, the male still remains ahead.
Race has also been discussed previously where it became clear that in a setting where the society has black and white people coexisting, black people are almost always at the losing end. The unemployment rate is higher among black people than white people. Back during the colonial era, white people dominated over black people and enslaved them. Black people were mistreated and lived like animals. White people got all the opportunities and kept them to themselves (Feagin & Baker, 2005). They got education and went to get good jobs with an even better income. By the time this era ended, society was already programmed to treat white people as being superior to black people. It has been difficult to recover from that tumultuous time and perception but even in this day and age, there are still who regard black people with discrimination (Feagin & Baker, 2005).
Society is divided into social classes depending on how wealthy one is. The wealthiest are at the top while the poorest lay at the bottom. The average members of society lay at the middle. Where this kind of structure is enforced, the rich keep getting richer and the poor get poorer. The rate of unemployment is of course very high among the lower class as opposed to that of those in the upper echelons.
Members of the upper class are exposed to other wealthy members of society and are privy to the knowledge beforehand when a lucrative position of employment opens up (Feagin & Baker, 2005). They receive the best education society can offer and go on to land job positions in large companies. Due to lack of funds, it is difficult for the poor to get any education let alone one that’s as good as the one their counterparts in the upper class get. This therefore results in their getting poor jobs or no jobs at all (Feagin & Baker, 2005).
There are organisations dedicated to fighting unemployment. Most of them, for instance the United Nations, do this by fighting poverty. Poverty is a big hindrance to development and consequently to the growth of the economy.
There are however other movements directly related to unemployment by making it their main cause. These include for example, the Unemployed Movement of Argentina and the Unions Organisations of the Unemployed in Germany.
In Germany, the organizations of the unemployed are not taken seriously because the unemployed are considered lazy. They therefore do not have a public voice. Since they have no finances either, they are funded by the German Unions. Mobilization of the unemployed in Germany proved difficult because most were just between jobs and would bounce back eventually. Thus these organizations consisted of people who were unemployed for a long time. They use rallies and protests to put their point across but even then it is difficult for them to make themselves heard.
Usually, they claim for more job opportunities as well as free public transport to their places of work(Sang-Sub H, 2009). The main goal being to achieve a low unemployment rate.
The Unemployed Movement of Argentina on the other hand has been much more successful. Members demanded support from the public as well as supplementary funding for training programmes. The members made their point by protesting in public buildings, roads, soup kitchens among other public areas. The general goal being demand for shorter shifts and reduction in working hours. They are a force to reckon with because they made themselves heard. It’s mainly made up of unemployed middle class workers with a working class ideology. There are however some members who are employed.
The movement has been successful for most of the part because they have managed to achieve their goals (Sang-Sub H, 2009). Anyone can be a member; it does not decree gender, race, class or age.
In conclusion, unemployment is a major problem in society that needs to be dealt with for a society to be healthy. It brings about a lot of negative consequences that may unravel the moral fabric of the society (Sang-Sub H, 2009). Unemployment can be stopped by amending laws that restrict certain people from applying to certain jobs. A good and strong economy can also weather unemployment since in such an economy, employment opportunities will be in plenty thus putting to use the available labour as well as improving the well being of the society.
References:
Coleman W.J & Kerbo H.(2006). Social Problems. New York: Nerd Press
Feagin R.J & Baker V.D.(2005) Social Problems: A Critical Power-Conflict Perspective (6th Edition).London: Oxford UP.
Darity, Jr., William A. (1999) “Who Loses from Unemployment?,” Journal of Economic
Issues, Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 491-496.
Baumgarten B. (2003). The German Unions and the Unions’ Organisations of the Unemployed: Different Communication Strategies attempting to Shape the Discourse on Unemployment. Retrieved from http://www.eurpolcom.eu/exhibits/Germany3.pdf
Sang-Sub H. (2009) Cultural Turn of Mobilization Identity: The Unemployed Movement (UM) and its Multiple Ideologies in Argentina. Retrieved from http://www.ajlas.org/v2006/paper/2009vol22no106.pdf
