Unemployment

Some of the earliest pamphlets on unemployment were published at the end of the 19th century. Examples include "The unemployed: an examination of some of the causes and remedies of poverty" by J. Southern, published by the Manchester Guardian in 1888, (BP160546), M(PAMPHLETS 9), "Our unemployed : an attempt to point out some of the best means of providing occupation for distressed labourers" by A. H. Hill, 1860 (HD5/D235), and "The unemployed" by Keir Hardie, a "Labour leader circular", 1895, (HD5/D119). The London Reform Union issued a report on the unemployed in 1896, (HD5/B66). There were also pamphlets published by the Trades Union Congress and the Labour Party in the 1920s, including "The latest Conservative attack on the unemployed", published in 1928, (HD5/218), M(PAMPHLETS 182). John Wheatley wrote "Starving in the midst of plenty", 1923, (HD5/89), M(PAMPHLETS 180). Local studies include the Leeds Fabian Society publication "Leeds and the unemployed" in 1905, (HD5/D242) and Toynbee Hall published "Unemployment in East London", 1922, (HD5/53), M(PAMPHLETS 179).

The Library holds a lot of material from the 1930s published by the National Unemployed Workers' Movement. The constitution and objects of the National Unemployed Workers Movement is held at HD5/28, M(PAMPHLETS 178). There were publications on the consequences of the "means test". For instance the London Trades Council issued "The unemployed regulations must go", 1936, (HD5/219), M(PAMPHLETS 182). The National Labour Committee published "Unemployment assistance: the new regulations: their history and method", 1936, (HD5/72), M(PAMPHLETS 179). R.C. Davison wrote "The new Unemployment Act popularly explained" in 1934, (HD5/82), M(PAMPHLETS 179). The National Council of Social Service published "Unemployment and opportunity", with a forward by George Lansbury, 1933, (HD5/155), M(PAMPHLETS 181) and "Work with the unemployed", 1932, (HD5/D245).

The Public Affairs Committee (USA) published "Security or dole" in 1936, (HD5/223), M(PAMPHLETS 182). The Pollak Foundation for Economic Research (Boston, Massachussetts) published data on unemployment in 1929, (HD5/10), M(PAMPHLETS 178). J. Curley wrote "The vanishing job: unemployment in 1930, " published in Boston, Massachussetts, (HD5/132), M(PAMPHLETS 181).

How to conquer unemployment

A number of organisations and individuals published their solutions to the problem of unemployment.

A. Martin wrote "The remedy for unemployment", published by the Liberty and Property Defence League in 1895, (HD5/B2), and D. Dallas "How to solve the unemployment problem by co-operative organisation of the unemployed with state control", 1895, (HD5/B16).

In 1912 the London and District Right to Work Council issued "Suggestions for securing the right to work", (HD4/104), M(PAMPHLETS 172). The Independent Labour Party published "The right to work", written by H. Smart in 1910, (HD4/D119) and the Labour Party "On the dole or off?-what to do with Britain's workless workers", 1926, (HD5/233), M(PAMPHLETS 187). The National Unemployed Workers Movement published a report of its 1933 congress on "How to fight unemployment", 1933, (HD5/B86). A.J. Mundella wrote "Labour exchanges and education", 1910, (HD5/C87), R. Muir "Unemployment: how to deal with it", published by the Liberal Publications Department in 1930, (HD5/C103) and Ernest Bevin wrote "My plan for 2, 000, 000 workless" in 1933, published by the Clarion Press, (HD5/D192).

In the USA the League for Industrial Democracy published "Unemployment and its remedies" by H. Laidler, 1931, (HD5/13), M(PAMPHLETS 178). R. B. Kerr wrote "How France abolished unemployment", (HD5/32), M(PAMPHLETS 178) . In Germany B. Kohler wrote "Das Recht auf Arbeit als Wirtschaftsprinzip", 1934, (HD4/181), M(PAMPHLETS 173).

Ideas of resettling the unemployed on the land were taken up, for instance in "A cottage and an acre: the remedy for unemployment, poverty and the house famine" by A. Smith, 1923 (HD5/15), M(PAMPHLETS 178) and a pamphlet published in 1797 by Aqesilans, pseud-"Scheme to make permanent settlements of the veteran soldiers, by cultivating the waste lands of the crown", (HD5/84), M(PAMPHLETS 180).

Full employment policies

Full employment was the goal of post-war governments. The Library holds the most famous document advocating this policy, namely "Full employment in a free society" by William Beveridge, 1944, (HD5/304), M(PAMPHLETS 183). Other examples include "The price of full employment" by B.J. Rowntree, 1944, (HD5/287), M(PAMPHLETS 183), "Demobilisation and employment" published by Political and Economic Planning, 1944, (HD5/298), M(PAMPHLETS 183), "The problem of employment: Beveridge fails to solve it: what will?", 1945, (HD5/301), M(PAMPHLETS 183) "The government's employment policy examined" published by the Liberal Party, 1944 (HD5/302), M(PAMPHLETS 183), "Post-war re-employment" by K. Schotterbeck of the Brookings Institution, 1943, (HD5/307), M(PAMPHLETS 184) and "Le 2eme plan Beveridge" by R. Servoise, 1945, (HD5/313), M(PAMPHLETS 184). There were publications issued by the Workers Educational Association, Economic War League and the Fabian Society. H.S. Kirkaldy wrote "Industrial relations in conditions of full employment", a lecture in 1945, (HD5/316), M(PAMPHLETS 184), E.P. Schmidt "Can government guarantee full employment?", published by the United States Chamber of Commerce in 1945, (HD5/321), M(PAMPHLETS 184) and M. Heilpenn "How full is full employment?", New York, 1944, (HD5/322), M(PAMPHLETS 184). J. Winterne wrote "The problem of full employment: a marxist analysis", published by Lawrence and Wishart in 1947, (HD5/339), M(PAMPHLETS 184).

But the problem of unemployment was not resolved and in 1972 E. Roberts wrote "The fight against unemployment" published by the Institute for Workers' Control, (HD5/A54), Paul Foot "Unemployment: the socialist answer" in 1963, (HD5/A56), A. Dalton "Unemployment: the tip of an iceberg", 1975, (HD5/B194) and the Labour Party Young Socialists published "Unemployment and the crisis of capitalism" in 1976, (HD5/B226). Counter Information Services published "Who's next for the chop: the essential facts of unemployment" in the 1970s, (FOLIO fHD5/F131).

The Acton Society Trust published "Redundancy: a survey of problems and practices", 1958, (HD5/D99) and the Liberal Publications Department published "Redundancy: social policies and the siting of industry" by F. J. Ware, (HD5/D270). D. Robertson of the Institute for Economic Affairs wrote "A market for labour" in 1961, (HD5/D268).

To find pamphlets on unemployment search under:

• Unemployment

• Unemployed

• Full employment policies

• Labor market

• Labor supply

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