"No-one has the right to a job in a capitalist society"--- so the saying goes in right-wing circles. Other than the fact that the term "capitalist society" is an oxymoron, this is a perfect example of how those on the right will believe any slogan or mantra as long as it's repeated enough times.
Unfortunately, it is also a perfect example of the inability of the left (or the right or anyone else for that matter) to identify rights and make the necessary arguments to be able to declare them as such. The Right to a Job is absolute and self-evident and the argument should have been made long ago so that millions of Americans would not have had to deal with the stress of unemployment. That argument will be made right now and we will put this problem to rest.
As a people, there are certain principles that we all agree on. Long ago, these principles became the foundation of our society. They are of course, the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Life is of course the primary right, the others are natural consequences or extensions of it. In fact ALL rights are extensions of the right to life and the Right to a Job is no exception.
The Right to Life means that you have the right to live your life the best way you know how, and that you have the right to provide for you and your family so long as you do not infringe upon the rights of another. However, because of the way our society operates, we have placed a requirement on an individual's ability to exercise this most fundamental of rights: that requirement is of course cash. Because of property taxes , fishing and hunting licenses, rent and mortgages, it is impossible to exist let alone provide for yourself and your family without cash. Because the government's primary responsibility is to protect the rights of its citizens, the onus is on government to maintain the possibility for full employment for every citizen. If cash is a requirement of life,then the government must ensure that every citizen has the ability to acquire it at all times.
No citizen should ever be at the mercy of another in order to be able to exercise his most fundamental of rights. This is how it is in the "private sector" however and the argument I just made illustrates just how wrong the myth of capitalism is. Make no mistake, the right to a job is absolute and we must demand of our elected officials to recognize this right and make it law.