UNEMPLOYMENT. – This term refers to the condition of a worker who, against his will, finds himself without paid employment. The phenomenon takes on the significance of a social problem in the modern age, particularly in industrialized countries organized along market-economy lines.
The generic term can be appropriately clarified by distinguishing the following types: 1) normal or structural unemployment, consisting of workers who have left a previous position and have not yet found a suitable new one, as well as workers who lack the qualifications required for the jobs currently available. For individuals, it is temporary in nature, but collectively it forms a kind of labor reserve that never falls below a certain level, even during periods of high labor demand. 2) Seasonal unemployment, characteristic of certain activities that occur intermittently (e.g., construction, agricultural day labor). 3) Technological unemployment, linked to changes in the technical means of production that allow for a different combination of capital and labor, substituting machinery for human labor. This form of unemployment is usually temporary. 4) Cyclical unemployment, associated with the cyclical phases of expansion and contraction in productive activity, which have become particularly pronounced since World War I in capitalist countries. During periods of contraction, the community invests less than it saves, leaving both capital goods and labor idle. 5) Structural unemployment, which is permanent and occurs in countries where, compared to the available labor force, there is an insufficient supply of capital goods to employ them. It may be linked to a population growth rate that outpaces income growth, resulting in inadequate savings and productive investment.
From this enumeration, it is clear that there are multiple causes for the persistence of high unemployment.
In addition to the circumstances mentioned above, unemployment may also result from a faulty distribution of labor, stemming from ignorance of labor demand across different sectors and from the costs of labor mobility. It may also arise from excessive wage rigidity, a feature of areas with strong union organization, which, under market conditions, limits employment opportunities. In such cases, maintaining high wage levels can translate into reduced employment.
Finally, it should not be forgotten that the severity of the phenomenon in the present period is exacerbated by
DESIGN – Design by Michelangelo for a Crucifixion (c. 1550) – London, British Museum, Department of Prints and Drawings.
Drawings have come down to us executed on parchment or paper, in pen, silverpoint, pencil, charcoal, or sanguine (not before the 16th century); with highlights in white lead, chalk, etc. Ancient medieval miniatures on parchment, with outlines only and no color, might strictly speaking be considered true designs. In reality, the distinction between design and miniature becomes clear only in the 14th century. Among the greatest draftsmen from the 14th to the 18th centuries, the following should be noted: Taddeo Gaddi, Lorenzo Monaco, Beato Angelico, Lorenzo di Credi, Botticelli, Filippino Lippi, Andrea Mantegna, Giovanni Bellini, Albrecht Dürer, Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Andrea del Sarto, Pontormo, Guercino, Rembrandt, G. B. Tiepolo, Francesco Guardi. – See pl. C.
DISINHERITANCE: V. EREDITÀ; SUCCESSIONE; TESTAMENTO.
Design – Design by Michelangelo for a Crucifixion (c. 1350) – London, British Museum, Department of Prints and Drawings.