The Remedy for Unemployment

"The Remedy for Unemployment" by Alfred Russel Wallace is a socio-economic pamphlet written in the early 20th century. The book addresses the pressing issue of chronic unemployment and starvation in society, advocating for fundamental changes in how labor and resources are utilized. Wallace argues for the adoption of socialist principles, particularly that production should prioritize use over profit and that all workers should receive wages equivalent to the full product of their labor. In this pamphlet, Wallace critiques existing governmental approaches to unemployment, asserting that they are inadequate and disorganized. He proposes a comprehensive national plan focusing on establishing cooperative communities where the unemployed can work together to produce their basic needs, thereby gaining both economic stability and a sense of community. He cites historical examples that demonstrate the potential success of cooperative systems and emphasizes the need for well-organized and sympathetic management to help cultivate self-sufficient and harmonious communities. Overall, Wallace's vision aims for a more just and equitable society through collaborative effort and self-organization among workers. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Alfred Russel Wallace was an English naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist, biologist and illustrator. He independently conceived the theory of evolution through natural selection; his 1858 paper on the subject was published that year alongside extracts from Charles Darwin's earlier writings on the topic. It spurred Darwin to set aside the "big species book" he was drafting and quickly write an abstract of it, which was published in 1859 as On the Origin of Species.