The Conscript Army

Originally published in 1977, this book was written at a time when unemployment figures in Britain were at their highest since the Depression of the 1930s, with 1.5 million people out of work. Beginning with a careful examination of what the unemployment figures do and do not tell, the book argues that official figures underestimated the numbers of unemployed. Discussion then turns to the people who were most likely to be unemployed, the myths about those out of work and the massive checks to prevent people wrongly claiming benefit. Case studies from groups of families in Liverpool illustrate what unemployment means in practice and shows to what extent unemployment leads to poverty while having little effect on rising prices. The author and contributors outline proposals for a policy of returning to full employment, which, they maintained, required the introduction of protectionist economic policies such as import controls: an idea which has found traction again in global 21st century politics.