If capable, trained men and women are unable to turn their hands to an honest day’s work, it is hardly to be wondered at when today many turn instead to a life of crime. Frustration has its outlet, as is seen in the British Isles where about 38 percent of all crimes are committed by unemployed people.

Currently in the British Isles there are one and a half million unemployed and the figure seems set to rise. Already there are more young people out of work than at any time since the war. One young lad of 16, overcome by depression at being unable to secure employment despite a great deal of effort, hanged himself. A member of his local Educational Committee commented: “This was an extreme case, but it illustrates the anguish many youngsters go through.” To go straight from school into the ranks of the unemployed is the real fear of many young people, a fear directly linked with the feeling of insecurity.

Modern Technology

What, though, of modern technology? Will this not open up new fields of endeavour and employment? Many have fondly thought so in past decades, but no longer. In fact, authorities are now sounding the warning of a dramatic increase in unemployment in the immediate years ahead. One group of Cambridge, England, economists recently went so far as to predict a figure of some five million unemployed in the British Isles, likely within the space of 10 years. Why this gloomy forecast?

Rapid developments in microelectronics have accelerated automation to a previously unsuspected degree. Heralded originally as the means of breaking the routine of repetitious work, it is now realized that computer technology can also effectively replace intellectual work. A skilled draughtsman, by way of example, may take 25 times as long on a project as a computer, programmed to design. With efficiency and profits in mind, it is not hard to guess what happens to the human element.