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PuzzledFox99 (talk | contribs) Not all welfare states are social democracies, so it doesn't make sense to have the former redirect to the latter. I spent a few hours on this so it'll probably need more work. Tag: Removed redirect |
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A '''welfare state''' is a system where a government provides goods and services for its citizens to ensure their well-being. Welfare states can exist, and have existed, under both [[capitalism]] and [[socialism]]. The concept is not inherently socialist, even though many [[Actually Existing Socialism|actually existing socialist]] countries have welfare. Capitalist welfare states usually come into being through the influence of [[Social democracy|social-democratic]] parties and a desire to bribe the working class through concessions. | |||
==Socialist welfare states== | |||
===China=== | |||
In the [[People's Republic of China]], the government's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security strives to provide welfare that covers childcare, education, employment, medical services, elderly care, housing and social assistance. There is dissonance between urban and rural access to welfare in China, which the government strives to overcome.<ref>{{Web citation|title=DOES CHINA HAVE A WELFARE SYSTEM?|newspaper=China-Britain Business Council|date=2022-01-11|url=https://www.cbbc.org/news-insights/does-china-have-welfare-system}}</ref> | |||
==Korea== | |||
In the [[Democratic People's Republic of Korea]], there is a robust system of social welfare. When Cambridge economist Joan Robinson visited the DPRK in 1965, she found that "There is a complete system of social security for workers and employees" and that "Pensions are at the level of 50 percent of wages. …The medical service is free."<ref>Quoted in {{Citation|author=Stephen Gowans|year=2018|title=Patriots, Traitors and Empires: The Story of Korea’s Struggle for Freedom|chapter=The Patriot State|page=93|pdf=https://kfausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Patriots-Traitors-and-Empires-Stephen-Gowans.pdf|city=Montreal|publisher=Baraka Books|isbn=9781771861427|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=8435F6FF91279531705764823FDC2A7F}}</ref> | |||
===Soviet Union=== | |||
The [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet Union]] had a system of [[universal healthcare]] for all its citizens. This system was effective. In 1977, the Soviet Union had 35 doctors and 212 hospital beds per 10,000 people, compared to the [[United States of America|United States]]' 18 doctors and 63 hospital beds per 10,000 people in the same year.<ref>{{News citation|journalist=Commiedad|date=2016-11-25|title=The Successes of Socialism in the USSR|url=https://writetorebel.com/2016/11/25/the-successes-of-socialism-in-the-ussr/|newspaper=Write to Rebel|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://writetorebel.com/2016/11/25/the-successes-of-socialism-in-the-ussr/|archive-date=2017-06-16}}</ref> | |||
==Capitalist welfare states== | |||
===Canada=== | |||
Social welfare in [[Canada]] can be traced back to Tommy Douglas, a politician of the social-democratic [[New Democratic Party (Canada)|New Democratic Party]], who implemented Canada's first government-funded health insurance in 1947 and created the country's first public car insurance service.<ref>{{Web citation|authors=Tabitha de Bruin and L.d. Lovick|title=Tommy Douglas|newspaper=Canadian Encyclopedia|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/tommy-douglas|retrieved=2025-01-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250123224526/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/tommy-douglas|archive-date=2025-01-23}}</ref> | |||
===Germany=== | |||
The first modern welfare state was created in the [[German Empire (1871–1918)|German Empire]] by arch-[[reactionary]] chancellor [[Otto von Bismarck]] in 1883 in the form of state-provided health insurance. Bismarck did this specifically to weaken the influence of the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany]] by effectively bribing the German [[Proletariat|working class]] into voting against them.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Lorraine Boissoneault|newspaper=Smithsonian Magazine|title=Bismarck Tried to End Socialism’s Grip—By Offering Government Healthcare|date=2017-07-14|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/bismarck-tried-end-socialisms-grip-offering-government-healthcare-180964064/}}</ref> This was around the same time that Germany began to emerge as a major [[Imperialism|imperialist]] power. | |||
[[German Reich (1933–1945)|Nazi Germany]] ran a welfare program known as the National Socialist People's Welfare (German: ''Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt'', NSV), which denied care to "alcoholics, tramps, homosexuals, prostitutes, the 'work-shy' or the 'asocial', habitual criminals, the hereditarily ill (a widely defined category) and members of races other than the Aryan."<ref>{{Citation|author=Richard J. Evans|year=2006|title=The Third Reich in Power|location=New York|publisher=Penguin|page=489|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=D83EA672676E3BB3DAFB95371E35500E|quote=The National Socialist People's Welfare enshrined in its constitution the statement that its aim was to promote 'the living, healthy forces of the German people'. It would only assist those who were racially sound, capable of and willing to work, politically reliable, and willing and able to reproduce. Those who were 'not in a condition completely to fulfil their communal obligations' were to be excluded. Assistance was not to be extended to alcoholics, tramps, homosexuals, prostitutes, the 'work-shy' or the 'asocial', habitual criminals, the hereditarily ill (a widely defined category) and members of races other than the Aryan.}}</ref> | |||
In the [[Federal Republic of Germany]], the welfare state is maintained through economic [[imperialism]] that exploits not only the workers of the [[Global South]], but also those of neighbouring European countries such as [[Poland]], [[Czechia]], [[Hungary]], and others.<ref>{{News citation|author=Fred Goldstein|newspaper=Workers World|title=German imperialism and the Greek debt crisis|date=2015-3-15|url=https://www.workers.org/2015/03/18697/|retrieved=2022-7-2}}</ref><ref>{{Web citation|author=Kwame Nkrumah|title=The Welfare State and Collective Imperialism (1968)|newspaper=Red Sails|url=https://redsails.org/nkrumah-on-welfare-and-imperialism/}}</ref> | |||
==References== | |||
<references /> | |||
[[Category:Economic concepts]] | |||
Revision as of 22:55, 23 January 2025
A welfare state is a system where a government provides goods and services for its citizens to ensure their well-being. Welfare states can exist, and have existed, under both capitalism and socialism. The concept is not inherently socialist, even though many actually existing socialist countries have welfare. Capitalist welfare states usually come into being through the influence of social-democratic parties and a desire to bribe the working class through concessions.
Socialist welfare states
China
In the People's Republic of China, the government's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security strives to provide welfare that covers childcare, education, employment, medical services, elderly care, housing and social assistance. There is dissonance between urban and rural access to welfare in China, which the government strives to overcome.[1]
Korea
In the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, there is a robust system of social welfare. When Cambridge economist Joan Robinson visited the DPRK in 1965, she found that "There is a complete system of social security for workers and employees" and that "Pensions are at the level of 50 percent of wages. …The medical service is free."[2]
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union had a system of universal healthcare for all its citizens. This system was effective. In 1977, the Soviet Union had 35 doctors and 212 hospital beds per 10,000 people, compared to the United States' 18 doctors and 63 hospital beds per 10,000 people in the same year.[3]
Capitalist welfare states
Canada
Social welfare in Canada can be traced back to Tommy Douglas, a politician of the social-democratic New Democratic Party, who implemented Canada's first government-funded health insurance in 1947 and created the country's first public car insurance service.[4]
Germany
The first modern welfare state was created in the German Empire by arch-reactionary chancellor Otto von Bismarck in 1883 in the form of state-provided health insurance. Bismarck did this specifically to weaken the influence of the Social Democratic Party of Germany by effectively bribing the German working class into voting against them.[5] This was around the same time that Germany began to emerge as a major imperialist power.
Nazi Germany ran a welfare program known as the National Socialist People's Welfare (German: Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt, NSV), which denied care to "alcoholics, tramps, homosexuals, prostitutes, the 'work-shy' or the 'asocial', habitual criminals, the hereditarily ill (a widely defined category) and members of races other than the Aryan."[6]
In the Federal Republic of Germany, the welfare state is maintained through economic imperialism that exploits not only the workers of the Global South, but also those of neighbouring European countries such as Poland, Czechia, Hungary, and others.[7][8]
References
- ↑ "DOES CHINA HAVE A WELFARE SYSTEM?" (2022-01-11). China-Britain Business Council.
- ↑ Quoted in Stephen Gowans (2018). Patriots, Traitors and Empires: The Story of Korea’s Struggle for Freedom: 'The Patriot State' (p. 93). [PDF] Montreal: Baraka Books. ISBN 9781771861427 [LG]
- ↑ Commiedad (2016-11-25). "The Successes of Socialism in the USSR" Write to Rebel. Archived from the original on 2017-06-16.
- ↑ "Tommy Douglas". Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 2025-01-23. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
- ↑ Lorraine Boissoneault (2017-07-14). "Bismarck Tried to End Socialism’s Grip—By Offering Government Healthcare" Smithsonian Magazine.
- ↑ “The National Socialist People's Welfare enshrined in its constitution the statement that its aim was to promote 'the living, healthy forces of the German people'. It would only assist those who were racially sound, capable of and willing to work, politically reliable, and willing and able to reproduce. Those who were 'not in a condition completely to fulfil their communal obligations' were to be excluded. Assistance was not to be extended to alcoholics, tramps, homosexuals, prostitutes, the 'work-shy' or the 'asocial', habitual criminals, the hereditarily ill (a widely defined category) and members of races other than the Aryan.”
Richard J. Evans (2006). The Third Reich in Power (p. 489). Penguin. [LG] - ↑ Fred Goldstein (2015-3-15). "German imperialism and the Greek debt crisis" Workers World. Retrieved 2022-7-2.
- ↑ Kwame Nkrumah. "The Welfare State and Collective Imperialism (1968)" Red Sails.