Making the French Unemployed Work, 1930–1936

Author: Michael Seidman

Source: French History, Volume 18, Number 2, June 2004 , pp. 196-221(26)

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Abstract:

What may be termed productivism – the belief in work as a necessary, if not desirable, social discipline – has influenced historians of the unemployed. In the 1930s the movement of chômeurs and some individual unemployed fought against productivism and struggled for higher wages and guaranteed incomes. These unemployed persons became the heirs of the moral economy and thereby challenged fundamental values and practices without which – according to businessmen, mayors, and many politicians – capitalism could not function dynamically. The governments of the early 1930s rejected the most radical demands of the militant jobless. Officials mobilized their resources at national, regional, and local levels to discourage the unemployed from ‘unduly’ profiting at the public trough either collectively or individually. To accomplish their task of ensuring a steady supply of wage labourers, the authorities could count on the middle classes, a large percentage of the employed, and even some chômeurs, all of whom maintained the productivist desire for regular wage work.

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: University of North Carolina, Wilmington, NC 28403, USA; ., Email: seidmanm@uncwil.edu

Publication date: 2004-06-01

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Making the French Unemployed Work, 1930–1936

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