The United Kingdom: the Welfare State
Asa Briggs, in a classic essay on the British welfare state,
identified three principal elements. These were
a guarantee of minimum standards, including a minimum income;
social protection in the event of insecurity; and
the provision of services at the best level possible.
This has become identified, in practice, with the 'institutional'
model of welfare: the key elements are social protection, and the
provision of welfare services on the basis of right.
In practice, social welfare in the United Kingdom is very different
from this ideal. Coverage is extensive, but benefits and services
are delivered at a low level. The social protection provided is
patchy, and services are tightly rationed.
Germany: the Social Market
Otto von Bismarck.
The post-war German settlement was based on the idea of a 'social
state', sometimes rendered as a 'social market economy'. The first,
central principle was that economic development was the best way to
achieve social welfare. The structure of social services had to
reflect this priority. The principle is represented most clearly in
the close relationship of services to people's position in the
labour market. Social benefits are earnings-related, and those
without work records may find they are not covered for important
contingencies. Less clear, but probably even more important, is the
general concern to ensure that public expenditure on welfare is
directly compatible with the need for economic development and
growth.
Second, the German economy, and the welfare system, developed
through a corporatist structure. This principle was developed by
Bismarck on the basis of existing mutual aid associations, and
remained the basis for social protection subsequently. Social
insurance, which covers the costs of health, some social care and
much of the income maintenance system, is managed by a system of
independent funds.
Third, there is a strong emphasis on the principle of
"subsidiarity". This principle is taken in Germany to mean both
that services should be decentralised or independently managed, and
that the level of state intervention should be residual - that is,
limited to circumstances which are not adequately covered in other
ways. Higher earners are not covered by the main social insurance
system, but are left to make their own arrangements.
France: Solidarity and insertion
Social protection in France is based on the principle of
solidarity: the commitment is declared in the first article of the
French Code of Social Security. The principle is used in a number
of different senses. The idea seems, at first sight, to refer to
co-operative mutual support. Some writers apply the term in
relation to 'mutualist' groups (friendly societies) and emphasise
that people insured within national schemes (les assurés sociaux)
are called to contribute and benefit on an equal footing. Others
stress that relationships of solidarity are based in
interdependence. Solidarity is usually understood, in this context,
in terms of common action, mutual responsibility and shared
risks.
The pursuit of 'national solidarity' was undertaken in the first
place by attempting progressively to extend the scope of existing
solidarities, most notably through the creation of a 'régime
général' for health and social security, and subsequently through
its progressive expansion. Since the 1970s this pattern of
solidarities has been supplemented by additional measures designed
to bring 'excluded' people into the net. The most important of
these measures is the Revenu Minimum d'Insertion (RMI), introduced
in 1988, which combines a basic benefit with a personal contract
for 'insertion' or social inclusion.
The French system of welfare is a complex, patchwork quilt of
services. This kind of arrangement is relatively expensive, and
much of the focus of social policy in recent years has fallen on
the control of expenditure - filling 'the hole in the social', le
trou de la Sécu. The main areas of concern are not dependency or
unemployment, but pensions, because of the special privileges
accorded to particular occupational groups, and spending on health
care, where the stress on independent, market-led services (la
médicine libérale) presents considerable problems in cost
control.
Sweden: the Institutional-Redistributive model
The Swedish model can be seen as an ideal form of 'welfare state',
offering institutional care in the sense that it offers universal
minima to its citizens. It goes further than the British model in
its commitment to social equality.
Titmuss's 'institutional-redistributive' model combines the
principles of comprehensive social provision with egalitarianism.
This is an "ideal type", rather than a description of reality.
Social protection is not necessarily associated with equality; the
French and German systems offer differential protection according
to one's position in the labour market. The Swedish system, looked
at in greater detail, has many of the same characteristics: Ringen
describes the system as "selective by occupational experience".
However, the importance of equality - sometimes identified with
'solidarity', in the sense of organised co-operation - is
considerable. The model of this is the 'solidaristic wage policy'
advocated by the labour movement, which emphasised improving
standards, limited differentials, and redistribution.
The United States: a 'liberal' regime?
The United States is sometimes described as a liberal' welfare
regime, in the sense that it represents individualism,
laissez-faire, residualism and a punitive view of poverty. These
issues often seem to dominate US debates on welfare: examples are
the introduction of 'workfare', the exclusion of long-term benefit
dependents, and the criticism of the 'underclass'.
The US does not, however, have a unified welfare system. Federalism
has meant that many important functions are held by the States,
including public assistance, social care and various health schemes
(Minnesota and Hawaii have state-funded health systems). By
comparison with other developed countries, central government has
had a limited role in social welfare provision: the main
developments of federal provision were during the Roosevelt
administration of the 1930s, which laid the foundations for the
social security system, and the "War on Poverty" of the 1960s,
which provided some important benefits (notably health care for
people on low incomes) and engaged the federal government in a wide
variety of projects and activities at local level.
In practice, the US is pluralistic, rather than liberal. There are
significant departures from the residual model - e.g. state
schooling, social insurance, or the Veterans' Administration, which
provides health care for nearly 40 million people. In addition to
federal and state activity, there are extensive private, mutualist
and corporate interests in welfare provision. The resulting systems
are complex (and expensive): the guiding principle is less one of
consistent individualism than what Klass has called "decentralised
social altruism".
