Last updated:

January 28, 2025

The relationship between hidden unemployment and the illegitimacy of the political system / Akbar Zarei Nezhad.

Understanding the scientific perspective on sociological issues is difficult for the general public; because social scientists are unable to properly explain the social issues of a society while also connecting with the public. One of the concepts that is particularly difficult for the public to define in Iranian society is unemployment and who is considered unemployed in a society. Naturally, the most common definition is someone who has reached a useful age for society, but is not valued for employment. For example, someone may have acquired skills through hard work and life in society, but is not hired by society. This example can convince anyone that society does not employ someone who has acquired professional skills, therefore their needs are not met and they do not contribute anything to society. This leads to depression and hopelessness, making it difficult for them to get married and start a family, and they struggle to meet their basic needs, resulting in an increase in false professions such as garbage collecting.

This is a simple example to explain the definition of unemployment and its dangerous consequences for society, and everyone easily understands this issue; because it produces consequences such as increasing poverty, theft, low marriage rates, high divorce rates, depression, etc.

But the main problem here is that the main cause of unemployment is hidden, not unemployment itself; because intellectuals do not have the power to explain it to society, and society does not have a proper understanding of the main source of increasing unemployment. Now you may ask why!

Hidden unemployment is a type of unemployment that society has not yet defined accurately and is much more dangerous than regular unemployment, with destructive consequences. But why is it called this? The best explanation for conveying the definition of hidden unemployment to people’s minds could be to look at the situation of senior officials in the system. For example, when we place someone with a PhD in theology at the head of an economic institution, without any expertise in economics, even if the person appears to be moral and distinguished and even has a hand in charitable work, naturally it produces consequences that are much more harmful and damaging than the first type of unemployment in our example.

The first and simplest hidden impact of unemployment is that it takes the place of a skilled individual and leaves someone of the first type unemployed, which can ultimately be justified as hiring someone who appears to be a logical choice, but in reality, the consequences of this action remain hidden in society and the general public can never understand the consequences of this type of hidden unemployment, which is a form of false employment and is much more dangerous than a false job like selling cigarettes on the street or collecting garbage; because they are often identifiable and have a moral and religious aspect, and society easily considers these individuals to be the best.

Some of the hidden consequences of unemployment that exist abundantly in Iranian society are:

Two people are unemployed, one due to lack of expertise and the other due to ignorance. Instead of solving many issues in their profession, they switch them around. In underdeveloped countries, this switching of problems often happens instead of solving them.

For example, such a person, firstly, does not understand the depth of problems when faced with the problems and demands of the people and the statistical society under their management; as a result, by shifting the problem, they only show determination to solve a problem that creates dozens of new problems and issues, taking up the time and energy of future governments and creating new costs for the nation; not only do they not solve the initial problem, but they also deceive the public. For this example, millions of cases can be cited of hidden unemployment that exists to a considerable extent in Iranian society. Nowadays, most problems are chronic and have been left unresolved. Building unnecessary dams on rivers, constructing numerous buildings and factories for work that was later found to be unnecessary or in the wrong location, and so on.

The unemployed individual, because they do not have education or relevant expertise, even if they have a consultant, will not have the power to understand the deep opinions of the consultants and will make self-centered and authoritarian decisions that gradually the people will not accept the consequences of these decisions and will put the system at risk; therefore, stable security in society is jeopardized and consecutive movements take place that will weaken the foundations of the political system; as we see these movements today.

“When specialists working in their field see that their senior managers lack even the slightest expertise in their relevant area, following them will be superficial and they will lose their motivation to strive; just like the proverb that says: ‘tying the camel’s reins to the donkey’s back’.”

False occupations such as garbage collecting and drug dealing in big cities, which have even spread to small towns, are both a result of hidden unemployment and considered a form of hidden unemployment themselves. This is because a garbage collector or drug dealer certainly has the ability and skill to do a better job, but due to their abilities not being recognized and discovered, they turn to these occupations.

Rent, party, and relationships in the employment of individuals are the biggest factor in the growth of hidden unemployment. All the damages mentioned are the result and outcome of this type of employment, which unfortunately is increasing day by day in the current political system. As we can see, as soon as individuals reach a management position – which they do not have the necessary qualifications for – they are considered hidden unemployed. This type of disease becomes more common and they place most of their family and acquaintances in their own management and organizational positions. As a result, administrative and managerial corruption increases day by day due to the growth of hidden unemployment. In summary, it can be concluded that managers, due to their inability to provide services and lack of sufficient expertise and skills, try to hire trusted individuals around them. These trusted individuals may not necessarily have the necessary qualifications, making the situation even worse. If our definition of trusted individuals was better, it would focus on having the necessary expertise and skills to perform the desired tasks

Unfortunately, I am unable to provide a translation as the provided text is not in Farsi. Please provide the text in Farsi for an accurate translation. Thank you.

It can be concluded that hidden unemployment is closely related to the illegitimacy of the political system. As hidden unemployment increases, the legitimacy of the political system becomes more vulnerable, and as the illegitimacy of the political system increases, hidden unemployment also grows. It can be said that the vicious cycle of this phenomenon, namely hidden unemployment, is evident. For example, the growth of employment in large-scale management in a specific province such as Khorasan can be considered as a sign of the mentioned claim.

Created By: Akbar Zarein ‌Rizi
January 21, 2022

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Akbar Zarein Rizi False occupations Hidden unemployment Monthly Peace Line Magazine peace line Peace Line 129 Political legitimacy