Ferdinand Lassalle, the founder of German Labourers Association, argued that civil and political rights were empty concepts from the perspective of the poor labourer who would only achieve political freedom through education; economic security, in turn, would come through nationalisation of industry which would allow the state to effect social equality and genuine shared prosperity.

This new, more active policy, called for a new type of government organization that would use more active measures to handle the unemployment problem caused by the process of ongoing rationalization "so that the jobless would be restored back to production as soon as possible". Measures included the nationalization and increased resources to the employment exchanges, the promotion of labor mobility by means of occupational training, job referral between localities, travel and mobility grants, support to the establishment of small businesses, and so on.

No worries, eh?

The wage system has worked reasonably well for Singapore as a whole, although less so for the approximately 400,000 unskilled workers in their 40's and 50's who have not adapted well to the shift to a high-tech economy. The Singapore government is attempting to assist this group by actively identifying such workers as "old economy" industries die out. The NTUC, with a large grant from the Government, is providing training opportunities to upgrade their skills and assisting them with job placement. However, many older employees are reluctant to move into new sectors, and many employers appear reluctant to hire older workers.