There is a notion that suggest that allowing older people to still take up jobs is one of the reasons why youth unemployment is skyrocketing today, especially in most developed economies such as those in the European Union and North America . The validity of this argument is based on the notion that there are only a finite number of positions in the job market and both the young and the old generations of workers are competing to be in those positions. While this may be true at some point, the job market and the movement of workers is much more complex than that. There are a lot of other factors and variables involved.
For example, the requirements and preferences of employers is something that the employees and even the government cannot do something about. One particular theory that may play a role here would be the rational choice theory in economics which suggests that all economic participants are bound to make rational actions, especially in a capitalism-based and free market economy .
The main ethical theory that can be used to refute the third statement is utilitarianism. Utilitarianism suggests that decisions should be made based on the end goal of minimizing the suffering, maximizing the level of happiness, for the benefit of the many. In this case, the third statement that was specified can be refuted based on the presumption that older employees are simply more skilled compared to the younger ones and that is why they are still being preferred by the employers.
Applying this to the current situation, this means that employers have to make the rational choice in order to survive and be continuously profitable. One of the explanations why a lot of the members of the older generation of workers are still being hired relative to the youths may be the fact that they are simply more skilled and productive than their younger counterparts.
If that is indeed the case, then there simply is no reason for the business owners to hire younger individuals, even though it is already clear that the rate of youth unemployment and its trend is already alarming. This position is not necessarily pro-ageism, it simply is based on the facts and the possibilities that may explain why a significant number of older people still hold the jobs that younger people ought to have.
References
EuroStat. (2016). Unemployment Statistics. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Unemployment_statistics.
Huebsch, R. (2016). The Meaning of Rational Choice Theory. Chron, Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/meaning-rational-choice-theory-5210.html.
