Sustav socijalne skrbi uvijek uključuje princip demokracije. Demokratska država definirana je činjenicom da njezini ljudi imaju pravo na slobodu, sigurnost i sudjelovanje u općim političkim procesima u svojoj državi. To , na primjer, obuhvata pravo glasa neovisno i anonimno. Svaki pojedinac u državi ima ista prava kada je u pitanju pravo. Stoga država mora osigurati da ljudi imaju i sredstva za korištenje svojih prava. To je osnovna definicija države blagostanja koja postoji.

Ekonomski i društveni uvjeti se stalno mijenjanju u svakoj zemlji. U praksi to znači da se iznos novca koji ljudi zarađuju i postotak poreza koji plaćaju stalno mijenja. To se odnosi na širu javnost i velike kompanije. U suvremenom društvu to znači da država mora osigurati da svaki građanin dobije osnovnu financijsku sigurnost, zatim pravo na obrazovanje, kao i mogućnost da se informira. Imati krov nad glavom također je jedna od osnovnijih stvari koja je potrebna svakom ljudskom biću, zbog čega ima svoje mjesto u brojnim ustavima demokratskih država širom svijeta. Države koje se drže i koje primjenjuju ova načela se stoga nazivaju državama blagostanja.

Govoreći o nastanku države blagostanja općenito, važno je spomenuti da se to dogodilo u doba industrijalizacije. Razvoj industrijske proizvodnje, uglavnom u tvornicama, uključuje mnogo rizika za radnike, kao što je povreda na radu ili nezaposlenost. Država je, dakle, isprva osigurala da za te radnike postoji neka vrsta zaštite. Zasigurno vlade nisu provodile takve sustave zbog njih samih, nego su ih prisiljavali radnički sindikati u zemljama u razvoju. Ovakva situacija danas se smatra jednim od najvažnijih činilaca za razvoj koncepta države  blagostanja, jer je ljudima dala mogućnost da se odupru mnogo moćnijim vladama ekonomskim pritiscima, a ne nasilnim.

Osnove strukture sustava socijalne skrbi u Njemačkoj stvorene su krajem 18. stoljeća tijekom društvenih reformi kancelara Bismarcka. Te reforme su se posebno odnosile na mirovinsko osiguranje, zdravstveno osiguranje i osiguranje od nezgode. Vrijedno je spomenuti i to da se isprva ovo osiguranje odnosilo samo na tvorničke radnike, isključujući npr. ruralno stanovništvo, koje je kasniji razvoj ovog sustava uključivao.

Države su  razvile vlastite sustave blagostanja,  te tako postoje različite vrste koje se mogu odvojiti jedna od druge. Iako svaki sustav ima svoje posebne i jedinstvene osobine, u osnovi postoje tri glavne vrste koje se mogu razlikovati.

Prvo, postoji tip liberalne države blagostanja. Ona se razlikuje od ostalih tipova jer postavlja određene zahtjeve koji su potrebni za dobivanje bilo kakve koristi od države. Naknade za univerzalno i društveno osiguranjima zahtijevaju neposredan razlog kako bi ih država platila. SAD je najpoznatiji primjer za to. U ovom sustavu odgovornost države nije u osiguravanju osnovne zdravstvene zaštite za svoje građane. Svatko se mora osigurati, ovisno o financijskim mogućnostima. Općenito govoreći, ovaj sustav povećava nesklad između bogatih i siromašnih ljudi kroz činjenicu da većinom samo bogati ljudi mogu osigurati sebe i svoju imovinu. U slučaju hitnih slučajeva bogati ljudi neće morati trošiti svoj novac kako bi nadoknadili štetu, dok siromašni bez ikakvog osiguranja dodatno moraju snositi te troškove.

Tu je i konzervativni tip socijalne države. Ovaj način socijalne skrbi uglavnom postoji u Europi, npr. Njemačkoj ili Francuskoj. Ova vrsta pravi razliku između različitih zanimanja i plaća povezanih s njima. Tako klasičnim oblicima rada ovaj sistem daje određene povlastice. U ovom slučaju to podrazumijeva klasični sustav u kojem većina muškaraca zarađuje većinu novca, dok njihove žene ostaju kod kuće, te brinu o kući i djeci. To je zbog činjenice da su takvi koncepti obitelji bili dominantni tijekom 1950-ih i 1960-ih godina, kada je uspostavljena konačna verzija ovog oblika države blagostanja. S druge strane, moderni oblici rada ili suvremeni obiteljski koncepti su u suprotnosti s tim. U stvarnosti to znači da se npr. u Njemačkoj smanjuju porezi koje plaćaju uobičajeni oblici rada, dok alternativna zanimanja nose znatno veći postotak oporezivanja.

Konačno, postoji i socijalno demokratska socijalna država. Ovaj tip države je dominantan uglavnom u skandinavskim zemljama kao što su Danska, Švedska ili Norveška. Ovaj se sustav financira iznimno visokim općim porezima, bez razlikovanja različitih zanimanja, spola, plaća ili drugih kategorija. Javne usluge, kao što su briga o djeci ili skrb, besplatne su za sve. Kroz te načine ovaj sustav redistribuira veliki dio od uplaćenih poreza svojim građanima, te je stoga najprikladniji za jamčenje prava na slobodu, sigurnost i sudjelovanje stanovništva.

Treba napomenuti da svaki sustav ima svoje nedostatke. Čak se i visoko hvaljeni skandinavski sustavi socijalne skrbi suočavaju s problemima. Naravno, provođenje politike ovih sustavi zvuči nezamislivo dobro i humano, međutim to uvijek ima svoju cijenu.. U ovom slučaju to znači da, na primjer, mala poduzeća teško preživljavaju, pa čak i osnivaju, u skandinavskim zemljama. Ovo je samo jedna točka pored mnogih drugih. Općenito, moglo bi se reći da ti sustavi također sprečavaju građane da ostvare svoj pun potencijal i promiču ovisnost o državi. Ali i suprotstavljeni sustavi kao što je npr. onaj u Sjedinjenim američkim državama imaju svoje uspone i padove. Ljudi koji žive u ovoj vrsti sustava s vrlo niskim porezima i relativno niskim troškovima socijalne skrbi koji dolaze od vlade se moraju mnogo više oslanjati na sebe. To stvara puno veću neovisnost od države, ali je istovremeno ovakav sustav mnogo zahtjevniji za građane. Novac i materijalna dobra kao takva, dakle, imaju viši smisao u ovakvim sistemima jer je nadmetanje oko njih mnogo veće nego bilo gdje drugdje. U ovakvom sustavu je mnogo je lakše otvoriti i uspostaviti vlastitu malu tvrtku koja promiče samoostvarenje, ali je mreža društvenog osiguranja slaba i ne može nadoknaditi neuspjeh poslovanja.

Savršen sustav još nije pronađen. Iako svaki sustav ima svoje mane, oni također legitimno postoje i, u većini slučajeva, proizvod su naših povijesnih lekcija i iskustava. Stoga su ti sustavi uglavnom povezani s našom prošlošću, a također i s našom kulturom.

 

 

Germany - The Welfare state

 

When speaking about the general idea if a welfare system this always includes the principle of democracy. A democratic state defines itself by the fact that its people have the right on freedom, security and participation in the general political subjects of their country. This means for example the right to vote independently and anonymously. Each individual of a state has the exact same rights when it comes to law. Therefore, the state has to ensure that the people have the means to make use of their rights. This is the most basic definition of a welfare state that there is.

Economic as well as social conditions are under a constant change in every country. In practice this means that the amount of money people earn and the percentage of taxes they pay is constantly changing. This applies to the general public, and to great companies. In our modern society this means that the state has to ensure that every citizen has to receive basic financial security and furthermore the right on education as well as the possibility to inform oneself. Having a roof upon your head also is one of the most basic things that every human being needs, which is why it has its place in plenty constitutions of democratic states around the world. States operating after these principles are therefore called welfare states.

Considering the formation of welfare states in general, it is important to mention that this took place during the age of industrialization. With enforcement of industrial production, mostly in factories, this included a lot of risks for the workers, like being hurt at work or being unemployed. The state therefore at first insured that there was some kind of protection for those workers. Surely governments did not enforce systems like that for their own sake, but rather were they forced by the upcoming of labor unions throughout the developing countries. This upcoming itself is nowadays seen as one of the most important reasons for the development of welfare states in general, because it gave the possibility to the people to resist the much more powerful governments by pressuring them in economic ways and not violent ones.

 

The basic structures of a welfare system in Germany were founded at the end of the 18th century during Chancellor Bismarck's social reforms. These reforms in specific included Pension insurance, health insurance and accident insurance. Worth mentioning is also that at first this was meant just for factory workers excluding e.g. the rural population. Later developments of this system included them.

As several countries developed their own system of welfare, there are of course different types that can be separated from each other. Although every system has its own special and unique traits, there are basically three main kinds that can be differentiated from one another.

Firstly, there is the liberal welfare state type. It differs from the other types by setting certain requirements that are needed in order to receive any benefits from the state. Universal and social security benefits require an immediate reason in order for the state to pay them. The USA is the most famous example for this. In this system the responsibility of the state is not about insuring a basic medical healthcare for its citizens. Everyone has to insure oneself, depending on one’s financial possibilities. Generally speaking, this system is increasing the discrepancy between rich and poor people through the fact that mostly only rich people are able to insure themselves and their property. In case of emergency rich people will not have to spend their money in order to compensate the damage, whereas poor people without any insurance additionally have to carry these costs.

Then there is also the conservative welfare state type. This way of social welfare is mostly seen in Europe, e.g. Germany or France. This type distinguishes between different professions, and the salaries connected to them. By that is gives certain privileges to the classical form of work. In this case this means the classic system in which most men are earn most of the money, whereas their wives stay at home, looking after the house and the children. This is due to the fact that these family concepts were predominant during the 1950’s and 1960’s, in which the final version of these systems were established. Modern forms of work or modern family concepts on the other hand are disadvantaged by this. In reality this means that e.g. in Germany taxes that are paid by those classic forms are reduced, while alternative options carry a much higher percentage of taxation.

Lastly there is the social democratic welfare state. It is predominant mostly in Scandinavian countries like Denmark, Sweden or Norway. This system finances itself by very high taxes for the general population, not differentiating between different professions, gender, salaries or other categories. Public services, like childcare or nursing are free for everyone. Through these ways this system redistributes a lot of the general economic output back to its citizens, and is therefore best suited to guarantee the rights of freedom, security and participation for its population.  

It has to be mentioned that every system has its flaws. Even the highly praised Scandinavian welfare systems do face and will face problems. Of course, it sounds unimaginable good and humane do implement such policies, but it always comes at a price. In this case that means that, for example, small businesses have a hard time surviving, or even being established, in skandinavian countries. This is just one point besides many more. Generally, one could say that those systems also curbs peoples urge for self-realization an promotes dependency on the state. But also opposing systems like e.g. in America have their ups and downs. People living in this type of system with very low taxes and comparably low welfare spendings from the government are have to rely much more on themselves. This creates a lot more independency from the state but it also demands a lot from people. Money and material goods as a such, therefore have a way higher meaning because the competition about them is much stronger than everywhere else. It is much easier to open up and establish your own small business which promotes self-realization, yet the social security network is weak and cannot compensate for the failure of a business.

The perfect system has not been found yet, and although every system has its flaws, they also have their legitimacy to exist and are, in the most cases, a product of our historical lessons and experiences. Therefore, those systems are mostly linked to our past and also, to our culture.