Full Employment: Asking the Wrong Question?

When we call something a problem, we are implying that a solution can be found. We are sending a signal that if we just think hard enough, consult the right experts, establish the right priorities, and then act decisively, we cannot fail to find a solution. And we know when we have found the solution because all at once the problem is gone.

Unemployment should not be described as a “problem” but as a grim phenomenon. It is not a problem because full employment can no longer be realistically expected, and therefore does not represent a solution one can responsibly dangle before people. It does no good to address this painful and chronic condition with the full-employment rhetoric beloved by Germany’s Social Democr...