Global Citizenship chapter 3B By: Neda Molazem Ikshita Saray Alireza

Three Approaches to Farming Social Problems  Read them as individual problems  Understand them as collective problems which are caused by public institutions  Consider them as systematic problems Historical Political Social Economic

Youth unemployment has been increasing at a rapid rate in North America and Europe  It is an individual problem Today’s Youth are lazy and Expect too much Works are unstable, low paying and without benefits  It is caused by educational system schools do not adequately prepare students with appropriate skills and knowledge for job market  It is a social (systematic) issue Low paying, unstable and temporary jobs and ….. Are caused youth unemployment Government policies benefit corporate sectors at the expense of general public

Consider as an individual problem  To see unemployment as an individual problem is to assume that if you try hard enough you can find a job so, the assumption is that it’s your own fault.  This perspective blames youth unemployment entirely on the individual  It has conflicts with facts In 1998, in Canada, the unemployment rate was 8.3 percent for adults while it was 28.7 for youth  It is necessary to overlook the way in which the current economic system feeds into the problem North America is a capitalist economy and does not have full employment Such assumption serve to deflect attention away from a systematic problem.

The youth unemployment is caused by public institution  Educational institution could shoulder some of the blame  Some diplomas and program offerings may not lead to a meaningful jobs and some institutions do not provide the relevant skills necessary in a competitive market  However, the problem is that these concerns are related more to employment preparation than to the root cause of unemployment  University and college education is costly and may not be accessible to all  The economic system is not creating more opportunity for the middle and working class in society  The role of public institution is not to create conditions of social justice or protect the environment but to liberalize market for wealth accumulation Blaming educational institutions deflects attention from the structural causes

The third perspective argues that we need to examine the root causes  Historical employment data indicates that employment level were relatively stable in North America from 1940s to 1970s during the peak of the industrial revolution  After 1970s corporations gained more control of the economy and lessen the size and role of government  Economic data indicates that inequality continues to increase  The middle class is eroding into the ranks of poor and unemployed  Corporations continue to downsize employees, ship jobs overseas or replace them with low pay workers  Employment policies have led to the de-skilling of jobs, the reducing of full time jobs and the disbanding of unions  Employment demographics are highly racialized and gendered  Youth are working in jobs that underutilize their skill levels and are forced to settle for part-time, temporary and low wage jobs

Socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor  North American governments spend up to four times more on corporate welfare than what they spend up social welfare  Over the last 40 years, government have steadily cut corporate income taxes  Funding continues to be cut back for public institutions such as health care, social services, transportation and education  University and college tuitions has increased; law and medical school tuition is so high that is beyond the rich of most middle and working class student  Corporations use their wealth and paid lobbyists to influence the democratic decisions making process  Human right activists, environmentalists, and even scientists are ladled radical when they challenge negative impacts of government and corporate collision

Is this a social or an individual problem?  Those who have the power to access mechanisms of communications such as educational system or mainstream media and entertainment industries are in a position to influence public opinion