"Do the unemployed want to work?" Employee ability and the willigness of the unemployed

Abstract

Among the numerous supposed reasons for unemployment, nowadays it is more and more frequently argued that the unemployed do not want to work. This view holds that welfare states’ support systems and the motivational tools they’ve applied so far are ineffective, and the situation which has arisen can be handled only with coercive measures. By examining the historical, economic and social background related to this opinion, this study aims to answer the following questions: Which values and interests make up the background of the endeavors to sanction the indolence of the unemployed? Why do a substantial number of people refuse to distinguish working ability from willingness to work? How do social and economic cycles influence the public’s opinion on voluntary unemployment? This paper reaches the conclusion that the thematisation of the laziness of the unemployed is always intensified during cycles of economic crises, and the problem can only be solved by making well-targeted economic decisions at the political level.