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@fantaghiro 2016-07-11T07:28:39.000000Z 字数 25872 阅读 9129

B3U3T1 Job Insecurity and the Welfare State in a Globalized World

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On April 10, 2006, French President Jacques Chirac surrendered to public pressure and withdrew the First Employment Contract (known as the CPE – the Contrat Première Embauche in French) after days of protests by student groups and labor unions. The proposed law, which was designed to combat France's 22.2 percent youth unemployment rate, would have allowed firms the freedom to hire workers under the age of 26 on a trial basis for the first two years, during which period employers could also fire such workers more easily than current laws permit.

On April 10, 2006, French President Jacques Chirac surrendered to public pressure and withdrew the First Employment Contract (known as the CPE – the Contrat Première Embauche in French) after days of protests by student groups and labor unions.

The proposed law, which was designed to combat France's 22.2 percent youth unemployment rate, would have allowed firms the freedom to hire workers under the age of 26 on a trial basis for the first two years, during which period employers could also fire such workers more easily than current laws permit.

The government believed that France's complex and inflexible labor laws – a high minimum wage, high payroll taxes, generous benefits, and an onerous labor code, all enshrined in many different contracts and numerous collective bargaining agreements; served as a disincentive to hiring young, untested workers. A previous incarnation of the law, the New Employment Contract, applied similar provisions to small businesses with fewer than 20 employees and had successfully created up to 400,000 new jobs.

The government believed that France's complex and inflexible labor laws – a high minimum wage, high payroll taxes, generous benefits, and an onerous labor code, all enshrined in many different contracts and numerous collective bargaining agreements; served as a disincentive to hiring young, untested workers.

A previous incarnation of the law, the New Employment Contract, applied similar provisions to small businesses with fewer than 20 employees and had successfully created up to 400,000 new jobs.

Opponents of the government's strategy, including the millions of students and unionists who marched against it in the streets of Paris, called the law a betrayal by the French state and claimed the new measure would just make it easier for employers to hire cheap, disposable labor and keep young people in an unsteady netherworld of partial employment.

Opponents of the government's strategy, including the millions of students and unionists who marched against it in the streets of Paris, called the law a betrayal by the French state and claimed the new measure would just make it easier for employers to hire cheap, disposable labor and keep young people in an unsteady netherworld of partial employment.

When President Chirac decided to revoke the CPE after just eight days on the books, replacing it with a package of subsidies, some commentators labeled the action a humiliation for the government, a triumph of mob rule and of the entitlement mentality. Some lamented the public reaction as a sign of the "depth of popular misunderstanding regarding the realities of our globalizing economy."

When President Chirac decided to revoke the CPE after just eight days on the books, replacing it with a package of subsidies, some commentators labeled the action a humiliation for the government, a triumph of mob rule and of the entitlement mentality.

Some lamented the public reaction as a sign of the "depth of popular misunderstanding regarding the realities of our globalizing economy."

On a deeper level, the reaction against reforms to France's labor laws is indicative of deeper anxieties, broadly held in Europe and elsewhere, about how the forces of globalization are impacting the stability of the welfare state. In the eyes of many, the swifter the currents of globalization, the more fiercely the continental Europeans cling to the traditions of the welfare state, "While most of the world struggles to cope with the shifting threats and opportunities of an increasingly global economy, much of Europe, and France in particular, remains devoted to a quasi-socialist ideal." According to Dominique Moisi, "The French produce 'ideas and dreams' and they challenge the assumption of the liberal and market-oriented order by their refusal to accept change in the name of economic flexibility."

On a deeper level, the reaction against reforms to France's labor laws is indicative of deeper anxieties, broadly held in Europe and elsewhere, about how the forces of globalization are impacting the stability of the welfare state.

In the eyes of many, the swifter the currents of globalization, the more fiercely the continental Europeans cling to the traditions of the welfare state

While most of the world struggles to cope with the shifting threats and opportunities of an increasingly global economy, much of Europe, and France in particular, remains devoted to a quasi-socialist ideal.

According to Dominique Moisi, "The French produce 'ideas and dreams' and they challenge the assumption of the liberal and market-oriented order by their refusal to accept change in the name of economic flexibility."

French resistance to change largely stems from a very different conception of the social contract between the citizen and the state in the realm of job security. On this subject, Philippe d'Iribarne, author of French Strangeness, has remarked, "In the American imagination, the relationship between a worker and employer is that of a supplier and a client … In France, when people work they say they have a 'situation,' which they expect to endure for life." The function of the state under this model is, above all else, to "make sure that workers are taken care of" in hopes of creating a "healthier, more humane society" than is possible in more fully liberalized economies. The pervasive role of the French government in employment is reinforced by the fact that 25 percent of the country's workforce is employed in the public sector, with 45 percent of the national budget devoted to civil service salaries and pensions.

French resistance to change largely stems from a very different conception of the social contract between the citizen and the state in the realm of job security.

On this subject, Philippe d'Iribarne, author of French Strangeness, has remarked, "In the American imagination, the relationship between a worker and employer is that of a supplier and a client … In France, when people work they say they have a 'situation,' which they expect to endure for life."

The function of the state under this model is, above all else, to "make sure that workers are taken care of" in hopes of creating a "healthier, more humane society" than is possible in more fully liberalized economies.

The pervasive role of the French government in employment is reinforced by the fact that 25 percent of the country's workforce is employed in the public sector, with 45 percent of the national budget devoted to civil service salaries and pensions.

Many advocates of greater economic liberalization attribute France's economic stagnation and political deadlock – conditions symptomatic of much of Europe – to the "hypertrophy" of the welfare state. In a country where "75 per cent of young people openly declare that their dream in life is to become a civil servant, something is obviously wrong … A lack of confidence in the future and fear of precariousness have taken over the spirit of adventure, a frame of mind in which to be protected from life becomes more important than what you do in life." The flexibility necessary for a healthy economy in an increasingly fast-paced world comes at the expense of the security that most workers – including more and more young workers – cherish.

Many advocates of greater economic liberalization attribute France's economic stagnation and political deadlock – conditions symptomatic of much of Europe – to the "hypertrophy" of the welfare state.

In a country where "75 per cent of young people openly declare that their dream in life is to become a civil servant, something is obviously wrong …

A lack of confidence in the future and fear of precariousness have taken over the spirit of adventure, a frame of mind in which to be protected from life becomes more important than what you do in life.

The flexibility necessary for a healthy economy in an increasingly fast-paced world comes at the expense of the security that most workers – including more and more young workers – cherish.

At bottom, as Dominique Moisi has said, "The hostility towards the concept of flexibility in the labor market was not only the product of a reactionary, status quo impulse, but the result of a deep resentment at seeing one's life being so totally at the disposal of others." Trying to shut one's borders to the forces of globalization is, however, no longer a viable option. Continued calls for state intervention in labor markets merely accelerate an already vicious cycle in which protectionism begets slower growth and unemployment, thus multiplying the need for more extensive social safety nets and exacerbating the original problem.

At bottom, as Dominique Moisi has said, "The hostility towards the concept of flexibility in the labor market was not only the product of a reactionary, status quo impulse, but the result of a deep resentment at seeing one's life being so totally at the disposal of others."

Trying to shut one's borders to the forces of globalization is, however, no longer a viable option.

Continued calls for state intervention in labor markets merely accelerate an already vicious cycle in which protectionism begets slower growth and unemployment, thus multiplying the need for more extensive social safety nets and exacerbating the original problem.

Concerns over job security are by no means confined to France or even Europe; rather, they are grounded in changes in global labor markets that impact every country, including the United States. Three forces are reshaping labor markets around the world: First, an oversupply of increasingly mobile workers relative to capital and investment; Second, technological innovations that put previously isolated workers in competition with one another; and third, increases in productivity that, while beneficial in the long term, contribute to short-term economic instability.

Concerns over job security are by no means confined to France or even Europe; rather, they are grounded in changes in global labor markets that impact every country, including the United States.

Three forces are reshaping labor markets around the world

First, an oversupply of increasingly mobile workers relative to capital and investment

Second, technological innovations that put previously isolated workers in competition with one another

and third, increases in productivity that, while beneficial in the long term, contribute to short-term economic instability

The interaction of these forces has resulted in declining wages for manufacturing and unskilled workers – a phenomenon now beginning to affect service and skilled workers as well.

The interaction of these forces has resulted in declining wages for manufacturing and unskilled workers – a phenomenon now beginning to affect service and skilled workers as well.

Whatever jobs are created by robust U.S. economic growth are often not as good as the ones being lost; many new jobs are in the "low-wage and low-skill end of the non-unionized service sector – on the check-out counter at Home Depot or delivering Domino's pizzas. Often those are replacing secure jobs at places such as General Motors or Ford that traditionally provided generous wages and full health and pension cover."

Whatever jobs are created by robust U.S. economic growth are often not as good as the ones being lost

many new jobs are in the "low-wage and low-skill end of the non-unionized service sector – on the check-out counter at Home Depot or delivering Domino's pizzas.

Often those are replacing secure jobs at places such as General Motors or Ford that traditionally provided generous wages and full health and pension cover.

According to Martin Bailey of the Institute for International Economics, "There is a social compact in which says each generation will be better off than the last. But it appears to have been broken in the last 10 to 20 years. If you look at the data then it is clear people's insecurities are not irrational."

According to Martin Bailey of the Institute for International Economics, "There is a social compact in which says each generation will be better off than the last.

But it appears to have been broken in the last 10 to 20 years.

If you look at the data then it is clear people's insecurities are not irrational.

Job insecurity is a real and understandable phenomenon in today's globalized world. Increased competition forces both governments and companies constantly to adjust their labor policies just to keep pace with rapid change, and the traditional safety nets of the welfare state can no longer be taken for granted. As long as workers continue to feel a lack of control over their futures, it is likely they will continue to express their anxious discontent in protests, strikes, and in some cases "protection" from international competition for many years to come.

Increased competition forces both governments and companies constantly to adjust their labor policies just to keep pace with rapid change, and the traditional safety nets of the welfare state can no longer be taken for granted.

As long as workers continue to feel a lack of control over their futures, it is likely they will continue to express their anxious discontent in protests, strikes, and in some cases "protection" from international competition for many years to come.

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