Shane Taylor wrote:
> Doug Henwood wrote:
> > I keep hoping people will adopt my slogan, but they don't:
> > protect the worker, not the job.
>
> I like it. What could it mean in practice?
What it means in practice is that the state makes no effort to protect, subsidize or otherwise prop up declining industries. Instead it focuses on providing income support, training and other assistance to displaced workers until they find equally desirable jobs elsewhere. The model is the Swedish active labor market policy. It's a slogan fairly narrowly tailored to be a response to protectionism. It speaks to workers in industries like steel and autos who feel (rightly in the current scheme of things) that their wellbeing is closely tied up with the health of those industries.
Not a comprehensive program for the left, but then, not every slogan needs to be.
Josh