Magyar Egyház, 1961 (40. évfolyam, 1-10. szám)
1961-08-01 / 8-9. szám
12 MAGYAR EGYHÁZ MAGYAR CHURCH Labor Sunday Message, 1961 In this Labor Day season the National Council of Churches extends its greetings to all people who work or want to work, to those now entering our national work force, to those in the prime of their work life, and to those nearing retirement. Especially does this Message go to those who are unemployed or under the threat of unemployment. The National Council has long held that largescale unemployment or long continued unemployment for persons able and willing to work is intolerable. “AUTOMATION — OF CRITICAL CONCERN TO THE CHURCHES” Automation — the invention and use of machines that reduce drudgery and multiply production — has not only increased opportunities but created problems that concern us all. In the long run automation may not reduce the total number of jobs, but its immediate effects are frequently felt in the dislocation of workers and for some of these the result may be permanent idleness. We recognize the genius of those who have contrived the new machines and methods. We also recognize the foresight, ability, and patience of those who have financed and managed the required research and experimentation, as well as the skills of workers who build the machines and operate the processes. MORE GOODS WITH LESS WORK —THE PROBLEM However, goods are increasingly produced with less work, and these production methods displace many workers. In numerous instances government projects employing many people are halted as national programs are changed. Thus, in our vastly complex industrial order the capacity of consumers to buy the goods of our industry is of critical importance. Attempts to maintain the purchasing power of workers are seen in the efforts of unions, companies, and community agencies to keep people employed, sometimes whether needed or not. But maintenance of an adequate level of demand for goods and services to keep our entire work force employed is not a problem which either employers or unions can solve alone. This task involves fiscal and monetary policies and other economic measures. Only in a context of full employment can the problems created by automation be adequately met. DEMANDS UPON CHRISTIANS IN THIS SITUATION Our Christian faith makes powerful demands upon us in this situation. In the increased capacity of our factories and our farms we have the opportunity to bring the comforts of health and decent living standards to untold millions of people both at home and abroad. As long as people anywhere are in need, our responsibility as Christians is to seek effective means of making resources available to meet that need. The distribution of our potential abundance to those in need within and beyond our borders will require bold new thought and action. Christian compassion and conviction have often shown the way to turn walls into doors. Christians can work in their private capacities, in their organizations, and through their governments to see that the needy are no longer in privation and want. Full employment within our new technology is an ethical imperative. To achieve it will require the best creative thinking and action on the part of everyone, including labor, management, agriculture, government, and the Christian churches. Immediately there must be retraining and relocation of workers, better provisions for retirement and transfer of benefits, assistance in difficult psychological adjustments. All segments of the community must be willing to assume responsibility for such programs, even as labor must be willing to accept new techniques. COUNCIL CALLS TO DETERMINED EFFORT But the total problem cannot be solved by stop-gap measures. Only a positive and determined effort for efficient, full production and full employment aimed at providing decent living conditions the world over can do that. To such an effort the National Council of Churches calls all men and women on this Labor Day.
