Maybe the jobless should get on their bikes
With an estimated 1.2million 16- to 24-year-olds out of work in Britain, it is absolutely right that this social problem is discussed and addressed. But compared to previous bouts of mass youth unemployment, the conclusions drawn from the current situation are not exactly ones to write home about. Because the biggest concern seems to be that unemployment affects young people’s self-esteem.
The reliably astute Noel Gallagher recently pointed out that, today, the main focus is on how young people are ‘coping’ with unemployment rather than on how they can be helped to find gainful work. The former Oasis frontman’s assessment was borne out by a recent Radio 4 report which, featuring an unemployed young man, dwelt on his self-esteem and confidence issues. The more tangible, debilitating aspect of unemployment - a shortage of readily available cash - was hardly touched upon. Exploring the psychological rather than the material impacts of joblessness was the main concern here.
The consequence of such therapeutic drivel is that unemployment comes to be seen as a straitjacket which limits any sense of agency or initiative.
What was striking about the young interviewee, who had been unemployed for three years, was that he seemed rooted to the family home. By contrast, in the early 1980s, another period of mass youth unemployment, it was commonplace for Liverpudlians or Glaswegians to try to find work in London or abroad. The then Conservative employment secretary, Norman Tebbit, famously told the unemployed: ‘Get on your bike and look for work.’ It was a highly controversial and despised comment as it effectively blamed the unemployed for the collapse of British capitalism. But another criticism was that Tebbit’s speech was both patronising and false. Hundreds of thousands of working-class people were already ‘on their bikes’ looking for jobs. One third of Liverpool’s population had moved down south.
Coping With Unemployment - News
Because the biggest concern seems to be that unemployment affects young people's self-esteem. The reliably astute Noel Gallagher recently pointed out that, today, the main focus is on how young people are 'coping' with unemployment rather than on how
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RT @: How are Spanish families coping with staggering youth unemployment? We're going to ask them. 
How are Spanish families coping with staggering youth unemployment? We're going to ask them. 
How are Spanish families coping with staggering youth unemployment? We're going to ask them. 