Social justice

Someone said: "To solve the problem of unemployment of our youths we only have one solution: imperialism." This was possible in the 19th century. In all likelihood, it's increasingly difficult to think of such radical solutions. What to do, then? Multinationals are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with each other as purchasing power is not all that good in much of the world. Education systems are facing serious challenges even in many developed countries. The morale of households and young people in so many countries is not at all brilliant. Many young people went bankrupt even before they started working because they were too indebted for their higher education. Others turn to prostitution to finance their studies. In short, there is a problem.

A revolution broke out in Tunisia in 2010, then reached other Arab countries. The protesters called for a new constitution. But people didn't want a new constitution for the sake of a new constitution. They wanted social justice. But then they didn't want social justice for the sake of social justice. What they wanted, in fact, was a better life: safe jobs, decent housing, better schooling, better health services, better infrastructure, stadiums... and a lot of freedom. All these rights are now enshrined in the new constitution. As for a better life, a certain feeling of betterment and security…we are still waiting for that. This kind of prosperity is unfortunately hard to imagine in the foreseeable future in this part of the globe, North Africa.

Many, many thousands, if not millions, of people in my region have bought homes on credit and are purchasing all kinds of consumer goods on credit. Many of these people are living on a tight budget. What about those who don’t have money to spend? I often hear business people, economic analysts, and even government officials, say that if tens of thousands of youths can’t find work it’s because their training is inadequate for business. People with degrees in History and Geography, in Philosophy, etc., if they are not lucky enough to get a job in the public service, have nothing to do in the business world. They only wasted their time at University. Business wants competent people. It wants engineers, managers, specialized technicians, etc. So what to do? What if, for one reason or another, you can’t study what business wants? Will you then join sit-ins in front of Government buildings to pressure the Government to find you a job? (It worked for some, but not for everyone.) Will you wait for economic recovery or better economic growth? Will you use heroin or cocaine to forget all about these problems?

 

  That's a real puzzle. I have heard experts put forward all sorts of proposals, from the most serious to the most outlandish, and in the end they tell you: it is up to the government to make the decision, to find solutions. But which government in the world would expect proposals from anyone if it has the solutions? So who has the solution?

 

  What's the problem, first? Apparently, it's not just job seekers who are suffering. When there is a crisis almost everyone suffers. And when we suffer we do not want to think. But when we only have our eyes to cry, we have to think. We need a medicine at least to calm our pain a little. So let's think!

 

  One source of our unhappiness is our anxiety about the future. How long will I keep my job in this time of crisis ? What about my children? How will I be able to give them the appropriate education if I lose my job? Horrible nightmares. Childless people are anxious, too. Who will look after me when I grow old? I don’t have any social security, will I have anybody to feed me when I grow too old to work?

We live in a world where precariousness and vulnerability no longer really surprise anyone, with young people not knowing what to study, for how long, for what business opportunity; with parents who do not know what to make of their meager earnings, if they still have some. Chronic unemployment, divorce, children born out of wedlock, abandoned children, single mothers, homeless people, drugs, prostitution, pollution, fierce competition in all areas, excessive individualism, fear of the unknown... We are reduced to dreaming of what we are not or what we cannot be. But at the same time we do not want to resign ourselves to witnessing our helplessness, however helpless we are, however crushed, devoid of any tools of change. Even our cherished democracy guarantees us nothing more than what we can and should receive from our elected officials. Nothing can be done. The system is stronger than us. We only have to manage our anger, our weakness, our fear. And if only we could understand what is happening around us! But how can we understand a world full of wealth, full of castles and Limousines and where we are told that's it, it's the end of work. Your jobs today will be worth nothing soon. From now on you're on your own…! We are constantly being told about restructuring plans, job protection plans and unavoidable relocation to save national companies and jobs; we are being lectured on public deficit, public debt, global crisis... We are bombarded morning and evening with alarming statistics. Come on, you're on your own! Needless to mention "frantic" consumerism and inevitable loneliness. How to get out of this?

Well, anger and indignation do not seem to make sense any more. Even strikes and protests aren’t bringing forth any good fruit in recent times. And when a government spends some money to avoid or limit riots or breakage in the street, it is -in fact- only widening the budget deficit and increasing the public debt. In other words, it is creating problems for future generations. And we have seen what revolutions have brought about all around us. What to do, then? To endure one’s distress and depression without acting? To continue to suffer in silence? For how long?

 

  Imagine that some university teachers found themselves forced to strike in order to demand the payment of six months’ salary arrears! (This happens in Africa, but not impossible elsewhere.) How can these people live? It goes without saying that the people cannot be left to die. The State must act even if it means going into debt. This in no way contradicts what I said above. This has always been the case since ancient times. People even went to war for this. But sometimes the state can do nothing. And so, throughout history, entire tribes and peoples had to leave their native country to invade other lands. Unfortunately, this is no longer possible.

But -apart from bread and rice- what are we looking for, in reality? Well, we are looking for our well-being. Some pray to Buddha, others pray to Ram, others pray to Jesus or Allah, to get from them what we all aspire to: work, a spouse, good health, good children... But wait a minute! Why, one would say, endure the pain of patience and sacrifice for something which one is not really sure of? So people turn to those who they believe can provide them with what they want. Hence the WELFARE STATE.  We did not have this in our Oriental cultures before independence. Now, we are witnessing scenes of socio-economic miseries in countries that are supposed to be havens of social peace, where the destitute and the needy should not normally have to worry about their future, since there is a Welfare State that is out there to provide for their needs and to ensure that everyone is equal before the law. In Africa, not everyone has access to electricity. In Western Europe, many households make big sacrifices to pay their electricity bills. All this shows us that there is a certain limit to what man can do for man. There may be some need for a stronger force than Man : why not God? More and more people are looking for “the truth”, for a solution, on that side. States struggling with the burden of debt and deficits are powerless. How long can people wait to see an improvement in their lives? In this context that hardly inspires confidence, some people are ready to try out something else. But what?

The blame game is part of human nature. We all blame others for our misfortunes. When there’s nobody specific to blame, we blame bad luck. But let’s be objective for a moment! The best intentioned, most competent government can’t guarantee jobs for all. The most compassionate, most patriotic business establishment in the world can’t guarantee lasting economic growth. There will always be a minority of “unlucky” people. Even highly educated people (doctors, engineers, top executives…) in many countries around the world may be surprised not to find suitable jobs. Even governments of developed countries plead with other governments of developed countries to do better for their national economy. The French would want Germans to do more for German economic growth. The Germans would want the French to do more to reduce their budget deficit. The U.S. would appeal to Europe to do more to avoid or get out of recession.

Now, suppose we have work, we have a salary. Suppose we can purchase everything we want. Is that the end of ours problems? Well, pay is money received in exchange for work. Volunteers apart, every worker expects to be paid. As we all know, some even refuse to work unless they get holidays with pay, a right to sick leave and a pension. What more could an employee ask for?  It depends!

As we all know, some employees do negotiate their pay with their employers. Highly skilled people with prestigious university degrees usually get the best salaries. Some job hop for better pay or more comfortable working conditions. Less qualified workers may join unions to ask for pay rise or other rights. But, still, is that all?

Interestingly, some people downshift for the sake of peace. They give up positions where they were rightly paid and take jobs meant for people with less qualifications. The reason, they say, is stress. They were willing to sacrifice some of their original income so as to save their nerves.

There is yet another category of workers. These are people who do not “work” and yet get their pay each month. They just go to their place of work, report for work and sit idly in chairs while others work long hours so as to get the same salary at the end of the month. Curiously, those who “work” are much happier than those who “do not work”. The last-mentioned are not happy at all because their working colleagues tease them always, saying something like, “You useless people, we work to feed you. You steal our money…”

Many of those who do work before getting paid are not happy, either. The reason(s) could be stress, harassment, bullying or any form of injustice. The employer could be just and fair, but not thoughtful enough. He may not care if you have personal or family problems. Your problems are your own problem; they must not affect your work.

Other workers just take it easy and seldom, if ever, protest. Some almost never take a vacation. Some work in dangerous mines or in steel industry, where fire is a daily sight. Others work in the fields in the blazing sun. Others work far away from home, leaving spouse, children and relatives behind. Some are migrants, others are in the army or sailors on the high seas. They do all that as uncomplainingly as possible because they cannot be paid if they don’t.

Hard work is much better than unemployment. A worker can pay for things a jobless person cannot. It makes a big difference when you cannot borrow money to meet an urgent need because you cannot guarantee paying the money back, while a worker with a steady income can. Worse, it is absolutely painful when you see yourself unemployed at the age of forty or older, while younger friends and relatives are already well-off.

But once you get a job you become like other workers. You too start suffering from new/old problems. You start thinking of holidays, among other things.

Holidays are the opportunity for many to rest and have fun. In France, for example, as soon as people come back from the annual holiday, they start preparing for the next, which obviously won’t come before eleven long months. One reason might be the French like boasting about their holidays. Another reason might be they simply get fed up with work between four walls. But this is certainly not specific to the French.

What has stricken me all the time as strange is that most of those who fill sightseeing buses in my country are old folks. Far be it from me to suggest that senior citizens should stay at home and help their grandchildren with their homework. But this, however, sets me wondering whether a large number of people do not really look forward to old age and retirement. Couldn’t this be, for them, the time to make up for the “lost time” spent “between four walls”?

Now, why should one wait so long? After all, work is not a curse. Indeed, work is often something wonderful. Yet the pay that an employer gives to an employee is but a nominal -say, moral- compensation for the effort made at work. This pay just cannot compensate for all the effort that a worker invests in his work. Every physical, mental or psychological effort you make to fulfill whatever task your employer expects of you will certainly have some (negative) bearing on your body or on your psyche at some point in later life. Whatever money or privileges you may get in exchange for your work will not replace any part of your body once damaged. Money cannot replace a lost nerve or a damaged lung.

Smoking, obesity and high blood pressure are some work-related problems. If you add to this harassment or bullying, for example, what would your life be like? How would you behave towards your family? Would it be alright for you to shout at your loving spouse at home and smile at your bullying boss at work? How would you bear the stress of formality and etiquette if your child is suffering in hospital?

Things get worse when yours is not a steady job. As long as your work is precarious, anxiety will hardly let go of you. If you cannot provide for your pension in later life, what do you do?

Your children too will suffer if you lose your job. They will shun their close pals because they just cannot pay for the same little things, a sweet plus. What do you do then? Will you wait until the next elections to vote for the party promising more jobs?

Even if you do get a job after years of waiting, that will not “shake off” the effects of your unemployment. The fear of losing your job will stay with you. That fear will affect your health at some point in later life.

Almost all workers lose something as they do their work. The peasant working in the fields in the blazing sun will have to deal with his aching head one day. The constant fear of a bad crop year will add to his problems. Idem for so many other workers. 

 

  So, if that is what work is like, how could it be “something wonderful”, one would say?

 

  One might imagine that some “workers” do not have anything to worry about. One would imagine that, say, an artist, for example, is someone who is free, who can work at his leisure and have a successful, enjoyable work-life. But artists too do suffer. An artist may have to weep days and nights, maybe years, before making you smile for a few seconds. An artist too does experience such things as stress and anxiety. An artist too needs money and stability. He too has his own social relationships. He too fears poverty, if he is not poor already. (This is nothing new.) However, many artists consider themselves happy and fulfilled.

Even those stars out there have their own “work problems”. It is not easy to become a star. The glamour of fame and opulence may not last a lifetime. And, for artists, this is painful. As soon as a star becomes a has-been, his problems start piling up. But that's what happens to all of us somehow. As soon as we reach a certain age, we begin to have health concerns, among other things.

It’s not unusual to see a writer with a happy smile on his face after finishing a long novel. It’s not unusual to see a woman smile blissfully after delivering a baby. It’s not unusual to see a student on top of the world after obtaining a degree. But that novel has yet to be sold, and that baby has to be brought up, and that degree has to be accepted by an employer. Such is life. That's the charm of life.

Scientists say that if your head cools down after a heatstroke, that does not mean that you will escape the long-term effects of that heatstroke. The pain will go, but the effects of that and any subsequent heatstroke will pile up so that they may -God forbid- develop into something worse in the future. By analogy, all work-related problems will only accumulate over time. So what to do? Do not work? 

 

  This is why it is beneficial to take the time for introspection, to reflect in order to try to understand life and the world around us.