Do you have a right to a good job?

Advocates for a universal basic income (UBI) often cite automation and the rise of part-time and casual work as a reason to massively expand the welfare state by making unconditional payments to all.

This is not about those who can’t find work and exist on welfare alone: they would see little additional benefit from most proposals for a UBI. It about the living standards of the working class in an age when unskilled labour is diminishing in value.

This sentiment is not limited to the niche debate around a UBI. Take, for example, union demands for additional support to manufacturing industries: some arguments are premised on the fact that many of those workers will never find a job with similar pay and conditions again.

Or even consider the appeal of Donald Trump in the US rust belt. When Trump talks about returning manufacturing to these areas, he is painting a picture of the days when a hardworking man with a high school education could support a family — and prosper — in a largely manual job.

The problem is that the market’s failure to provide middle class living standards to the working class is viewed as cause for government intervention.

The issue is actually fairly straightforward: the market assigns labour a value based entirely on what it can produce. Some people have skills that are very valuable, others do not. Technological progress and removing barriers to competition (both from targeting prejudice and encouraging trade) has made unskilled and semi-skilled labour in rich economies much less desirable.

Simply put: the market does not believe everyone has a right to a good job. But in an age where everyone gets a prize lest they not feel like a special snowflake, it’s very hard to convince people to lower their expectations.