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INTERNATIONAL LAW INSTITUTE

at the Ministry of Justice Russian Federation

FACULTY OF LAW REGIONAL STUDIES

COURSE WORK

Discipline: Theory of Government and Rights

Subject: Welfare state: concept and problems

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Tula, 2008Plan

  • Introduction
  • The concept of a social state and its features
  • Social purpose of the state
  • Functions of the welfare state
  • Problems of creating a social state in Russia
  • Conclusion
  • Bibliography

Introduction

Any state is the unity of its essence, content and form. For it to function actively, for its mechanism to operate efficiently and smoothly, clearly organized state power is required. According to the famous Russian philosopher and lawyer I.A. Ilyin, the form of the state is not an “abstract concept” and not a “political scheme”, indifferent to the life of the people, but a structure of life, a living organization of the power of the people.

It is necessary for the people to understand their system of life, so that they know how to organize themselves “this way”, so that they respect the laws of this system and put their will into this organization” Ilyin I.A. About the state form//Soviet state and law. 1991.No. 11. P.135. .

Among the many problems relating to the state, a special place is occupied by the issues of defining the concept of forms of state. In scientific and educational literature they are traditionally given special attention. And this is not accidental, since depending on how the form of the state is understood and how it relates to its other aspects, the idea of ​​the state itself as a whole is largely created.

The form of the state always acts as a direct expression of its essence and content. Whatever the essence and content (functions) of the state are, such is, ultimately, its form.

An element of the “state” system is the “state functions” system, which includes the social function.

The topic of this work, “The Social State: Concept and Problems,” is relevant, since today the outline of a new social state, the “state of opportunity,” is clearly emerging, carrying out a social function on the basis of new principles. “The State of Opportunities” is the goal to which modern state-organized society strives.

According to O.V. Rodionova, social function should be studied in the activity aspect, which includes such aspects as the activities of various social factors: social protection of needy groups of the population; to ensure everyone’s right to freedom of labor, employment, labor migration, control over the safety of working conditions and compliance with hygiene requirements, social insurance and security; in the field of education, healthcare, providing citizens with housing, etc. Rodionova O.V. Social function modern state. M., 2006. P. 7.

The purpose of this work is to trace the relationship between the form of the state and social function.

Tasks - give brief description functions of the state; dwell on the concept of the form of the state; consider the influence of the form of the state on the implementation of social functions.

The concept of a social state and itssigns

A social state is a characteristic related to the constitutional and legal status of the state, presupposing a constitutional guarantee of economic and social rights and freedoms of man and citizen and the corresponding responsibilities of the state. It means that the state serves society and seeks to eliminate or minimize unjustified social differences. For the first time, the social character of the state was proclaimed in the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949. The Constitution of the Russian Federation (Article 7) proclaims: “The Russian Federation is a social state, the policy of which is aimed at creating conditions that ensure decent life and free development of man." The following constitutional responsibilities of the Russian state follow from this general provision: a) protect the labor and health of people; b) establish a minimum guaranteed wage; c) provide state support for the family, motherhood, paternity and childhood, the disabled and the elderly citizens; d) develop the system social services; e) establish state pensions, benefits and other guarantees of social protection.

The formation of a welfare state is not only an economic and political process, but also a moral process that requires a “human” dimension.

Taking into account the foregoing, we can conclude that the conditions of existence of the social state and its characteristic features are:

1. Democratic organization state power.

2. High moral level of citizens and, above all, state officials.

3. Powerful economic potential, allowing for the implementation of measures for the redistribution of income without significantly infringing on the position of the owners.

4. Socially oriented structure of the economy, which is manifested in the existence various forms property with a significant share of state ownership in the necessary areas of the economy.

5. Legal development of the state, the presence of the qualities of a rule-of-law state.

6. The existence of civil society, in the hands of which the state acts as an instrument for carrying out socially oriented policies.

7. A clearly expressed social orientation of the state policy, which is manifested in the development of various social programs and the priority of their implementation.

8. The state has such goals as establishing the common good, establishing social justice in society, providing each citizen with:

a) decent living conditions;

b) social security;

c) equal starting opportunities for personal self-realization.

9. The presence of developed social legislation (legislation on social protection of the population, for example the Code of Social Laws, as is the case in Germany).

10. Consolidation of the “welfare state” formula in the country’s constitution.

Social purpose of the state

The essence of the state as a social phenomenon is “a multifaceted core that consists of many interconnected internal and external aspects, giving it the qualitative certainty of a universal governing system” 11 General Theory of Law and State: Textbook. Ed. Lazareva V.V. M. 1994. P. 51. .

The state arises as a class organization of political power. This position has been directly or indirectly proven by world science and historical practice. An analysis of certain economic and social patterns of the emergence and functioning of the state, mainly from a class position, made it possible to give a “universal” definition of the essence of the state - the state is “only an organization that bourgeois society creates for itself to protect the general external conditions of the capitalist mode of production” 22 Marx K., Engels F. Op. T.1. P.260

However, qualitative changes in the life of society have led to a change in the essence of the state. The emergence of the Soviet state, and then a number of other states after the Second World War, was no longer included in the above formulation. This allowed us to conclude that “state development is a complex dialectical-logical process. It is characterized by many contradictory tendencies, among which progressive ones ultimately begin to predominate.” 33 General theory of law and state: Study. Ed. Lazareva V.V. M. 1994. P.26

The peculiarity of the historical types of states preceding modernity is that they mainly expressed the economic interests of the minority (slave owners, feudal lords, capitalists). However, as society improves, in the process of its humanization, the political and moral “maturation” of a person, “the economic and social base of the state expands, while the coercive element of its power narrows” 44 Ibid. P. 28.

Thus, due to objective reasons, the state turns primarily into the organizing force of society, which expresses and protects the personal and general interests of its members.

As we improve public life Forms of ownership, including private ones, are also becoming more diverse. The property of the minority gradually turns into the property of the majority. As a result of revolutionary and evolutionary transformations of property relations, the socio-economic essence of the state, its goals and objectives also changes. With the formation of state, collective, joint-stock, cooperative, farmer, individual and other forms of ownership, private property, that is, individual property, began to acquire new qualitative features.

Even A. Smith defended the individual freedom of each person in the sphere economic activity regulated by competition. 11 Philosophical Dictionary. M. 1997. P. 103.

He believed that everywhere, especially in the economic field, if a person enjoys freedom of choice, then he chooses the most profitable paths.

In a modern state, private property becomes not so much a state property as a public institution, which is under state protection. The state stimulates and protects that individual property that is organically included in the general economic system of society and ensures its material and spiritual well-being; comprehensive state ownership, which for a long time was actually the only form property in socialist countries has not stood the test of time.

With the change in the living conditions of society, there occurred, on the one hand, “a narrowing of the essence of the state as an organization of class domination, on the other hand, an expansion and enrichment of those objective properties that characterize the state as an organization of the entire society. Under the influence of the processes of progressive social development, the “separation” of the state from the people is reduced, and it is brought closer to the fundamental interests and needs of society and the individual.” 22 General Theory of Law and State: Textbook. Ed. Lazareva V.V. M. 1994. P.34.

Thus, from a body standing above society, the state turns into a body serving society.

Each specific state has a common , characteristic of the day of all states, special , expressing features related group of states, and a single , inherent only in this particular state. At all stages of its historical development, the state retains its general essential features and at the same time changes in its specific essence due to the changing conditions of social life.

The social purpose of the state follows from its essence. We can talk about the social purpose of the state in general, abstracting from those historically transitory tasks that it solved at one or another stage of the development of society. Attempts to determine the social purpose of the state for its entire historical perspective were made by thinkers different eras and various scientific fields.

Functions of the welfare state

When talking about the functions of the welfare state, the following circumstances should be kept in mind:

a) it has all the traditional functions determined by its nature as a state as such;

c) within the framework of the general social function, it is possible to identify specific areas of activity of the social state - specific functions.

The latter, in particular, include:

1. support for socially vulnerable categories of the population;

2. occupational safety and health;

3. support for family, motherhood, fatherhood and childhood;

4. smoothing social inequality by redistributing income between different social strata through taxation, the state budget, and special social programs;

5. encouragement of charitable activities (in particular, by providing tax benefits to business structures carrying out charitable activities);

6. financing and support of fundamental scientific research and cultural programs;

7. combating unemployment, ensuring employment of the population, paying unemployment benefits;

8. searching for a balance between a free market economy and the state’s influence on its development in order to ensure a decent life for all citizens;

9. participation in the implementation of interstate environmental, cultural and social programs, solving universal human problems;

10. concern for maintaining peace in society.

Constitution of the Russian Federation in Art. 7 enshrines the principle of sociality of the state: “1. The Russian Federation is a social state whose policy is aimed at creating conditions that ensure a decent life and free development of people. 2. In the Russian Federation, the labor and health of people are protected, a guaranteed minimum wage is established, state support is provided for the family, motherhood, paternity and childhood, the disabled and elderly citizens, a system of social services is developed, state pensions, benefits and other guarantees of social protection are established.” . However, for now Russia can only be called a country in a transitional stage to a social state, and the above provision of the Constitution can be regarded as a program setting.

Problems of creating a social state in Russia

We can name some problems of creating a social state in Russia:

1. Russia has not yet found support in law, in human rights, and the social state in Russia cannot rely on the foundation of the rule of law: the creation of a social state in our country is not a new stage in the development of the rule of law (as was the case in the West);

2. a “middle layer” of owners has not been created in Russia: the overwhelming majority of the country’s population received nothing from the spontaneously privatized party-state property;

3. there is no powerful economic potential that would allow measures to redistribute income without significantly infringing on the freedom and autonomy of owners;

4. monopolies in the most important types of production and sales have not been eliminated, which leads to a lack of real competition;

5. lack of developed, mature civil society;

6. The level of morality in society has been reduced, the usual spiritual guidelines of justice and equality have been practically lost. IN public consciousness a pernicious idea of ​​the incompatibility, on the one hand, of morality, and, on the other, of politics and economics (“politics is a dirty business”) is affirmed (with the help of “professional” ideologists and politicians, as well as the media);

7. existing political parties in Russia do not have clear social programs and ideas about ways to reform society;

8. society lacks clearly defined real goals and scientifically proven models of life;

9. in the process of release Russian society from total government intervention is reduced by inertia social role statehood, that is, the Russian state has gone to the other extreme, leaving the citizen alone with the elements of the market.

And yet, despite the difficulties listed above, the development of social statehood is the only possible path for the free society that Russia wants to become.

The influence of the form of the state on the implementation of social functions

The social function is characteristic not only of democratic but also of anti-democratic regimes. An example is the USSR, the political regime in which is usually classified as totalitarian. But in the USSR, the social function was carried out quite actively, especially in such aspects as the right to work, the right to medical care, the right to education, and so on.

As an example, let us turn to one of the most important aspects of the manifestation of the social function of the state - pension provision.

Pensions in the USSR were financed from public consumption funds, which were made up of funds from the state budget and from contributions from enterprises. The workers themselves did not contribute anything from their individual income. The relatively low retirement age (55 years for women and 60 years for men) can also be considered a very important component of this aspect of the problem. It should be noted that the timing of possible old-age retirement has not changed to this day.

In 1990 In Russia, the RSFSR Law “On State Pensions in the RSFSR” was adopted, the most humane and most social law on pensions in the entire history of Russia. He introduced the institution of social pensions; the list of payments through which the pension is formed was expanded; the size of pensions was made dependent on the level of wages and the number of years worked; the period for recording earnings for calculating pensions was increased from 12 to 24 months before retirement; it became possible to calculate a pension from earnings for any five years of continuous service; “non-insurance” periods were included in the work experience (military service, study, stay in maternity leave child care, etc.); all working pensioners received the right to receive a full pension; the minimum pension in accordance with this law should not have fallen below living wage; pensions were supposed to be indexed in accordance with rising prices. But this law was designed for the Soviet state with a planned economy, for other realities. In a market economy, this law has become unenforceable for a number of reasons Rodionova O.V. Decree. op. P. 19. .

For modern Russia, an integral element of the social function is the system of state guarantees of the right of citizens to pension provision. But at present, the pension weakly depends on the labor contribution and does not take into account the contribution of the insurance company, i.e. duration and amount paid in Pension Fund contributions. The size of pension payments is most strongly influenced by length of service, and the weakest by wages, and the overall level of pensions remains relatively low. Therefore, pension payments resemble a type social assistance.

So, in terms of fulfilling its social function, the modern Russian state can still learn from the USSR, although the political regime in modern Russia can be qualified as a democratic regime of a liberal nature.

If we talk about the relationship between the form of government and social function, it should be noted that there is no direct relationship. For example, Japan is a monarchy, but at the same time a fairly developed social state, if we qualify it by the standard of living of the population, by the level of education and the provision of quality medical services. It can easily be classified as a social state. Although in Japan the main burden of carrying out the social function is borne by the family, which distinguishes Japan from, for example, Germany, which has a republican form of government.

Thus, there is no dependence in the manifestations of the social function of the state on the form of government. Here, a direct dependence can be traced again on what level of development a particular state-organized society is at: if it is industrial or post-industrial, then social activity is an immanent attribute of the activity of a state-organized society; if at the agricultural level, it is carried out fragmentarily Rodionova O.V. Decree. op. P. 71. .

The issue of the dependence of the social function on the territorial structure of the state is resolved in a similar way. Neither the type of social state nor the quality of social activity depends on the form of territorial structure. For example, Denmark is a unitary state. It is characterized by a social-democratic type of social state, high level development of a social function, the specificity of which is determined by ethnocultural characteristics, and in general - post-industrial society, within which this state entity exists.

Switzerland is a federal state. But it also has the same type of social state as Denmark, because The determining criterion for the degree of development and quality of social activity is not the form of territorial structure, but the level of development of society and ethnocultural characteristics. The only difference is in the organizational aspects of the implementation of the social function, which is largely determined by the unitary or federal method territorial organization of one state or another.

Thus, the direct, immediate dependence of the degree of development and volume of implementation of the social function on the forms of the state can be traced only in the case of political regime, while neither forms of government nor territorial structure are determinants of the social function of a state-organized society.

Conclusion

From the analysis of the state form of organization of society, we can conclude that the features of the state that distinguish it from the social organization of the primitive communal system are:

- a single territorial and economic space in which economic life is carried out; the presence of a special layer of people - the administrative apparatus, performing various general social functions, but also having the opportunity to exercise state coercion in the necessary conditions, to exercise public power;

- a unified system of taxes and finances. A state-organized society has a single language for communication on the territory of the state, a common defense and foreign policy, transport, energy and information systems;

Certain uniform individual rights protected by the state. There is power in every society, but only in a state-organized society does this power acquire the features of state power, the structure of which includes a state-organized group of officials, the army, the administration, judges and other persons who ensure the performance of general social functions that protect general and class interests.

Thus, in in a broad sense state is an organized political power a society subject to legal laws, the integrity of which is created by public power structures, personified in state legal institutions and relations. In a narrow sense, the state is a system of various institutions of public power, a management apparatus, isolated from society and expressing both the interests of certain social groups and the interests of society as a whole. The state is the main institution of the political system and the main subject of politics as a system of authorities.

The purpose of this course work was to determine the relationship between the concepts of state power and state law. After the work done, we can draw the following conclusion:

The question of the relationship between law and state has long been resolved from two diametrically opposed points of view. Some historical figures categorically linked the emergence of law with the activities of the state and recognized as legal norms only those that were recorded in the regulations of state bodies and officials. Others, on the contrary, believed that law existed and will exist outside the activities of the state, and that the state itself is a creation of law.

Meanwhile, the truth lies in finding the golden mean. To fundamentally resolve the issue, it is necessary to abstract from the differences in the concept of the state in the historical periods of its development and proceed from the fact that “the state is a perfect organization that reflects the interests of the population” 11 Law.// Ed. Varyvdina V.A. M.1999. S.1. and should be tasked with finding the most favorable solutions for its citizens. Law and the state are inseparable, if we keep in mind the reasons for their appearance in society and social roles (functions). Law and the state are interdependent and interconnected. They shape each other and mutually influence each other. To create a rule of law state, it is necessary to achieve consistent democratization of society, establish the legal foundations of state building and control over compliance with the rule of law and the principle of legality. “The rule of law is considered as one of the highest social values, designed to establish humanistic principles, ensure and protect freedom, honor and dignity of the individual” 22 Livshits.R.Z. Modern theory of law. M. 1992. P.34.

.

The creation of a rule-of-law state in Russia is associated with the maximum provision of human rights and freedoms, the responsibility of the state to the citizen, with the improvement of existing legislation and increasing the authority of the law, with strict compliance by all government bodies, public organizations, groups and citizens, with efficient work law enforcement.

Bibliography

1. Constitution of the Russian Federation// - “Rossiyskaya Gazeta”. December 25, 1993

2. Vengerov A.V. Theory of state and law: Textbook for university students. - M.: New Lawyer, 1998.

3. Korelsky V.M., Perevalova V.D. Theory of state and law: Textbook M.: 2000.

4. Lukasheva O. A. Jurisprudence. - M.: Academy, 2001.

5. Manov G. N. Theory of state and law: Textbook, - M.: Alfa-M, 2001.

6. Marchenko M. N. Theory of state and law in lectures. Textbook for universities. - M.: Alpha, 2001.

7. Patsatsiya M.Sh. Theory of Government and Rights. M.: Academy, 2000.

8. Pigolkin A. S. General theory of state and law: Textbook for universities. - M.:, UNITY, 1999.

9. Rodionova O.V. Social function of the modern state: M.: Yurist, 2006.

10. Rassolov M.M. Theory of state and law: - M.: Law and Law, 2004.

11. Sokolov A.N. Theory of Government and Rights. Kaliningrad, 2002.

12. Temnov E.I. Theory of Government and Rights. M.: Lawyer, 2003.

13. Theory of State and Law: Course of Lectures Ed. M.N. Marchenko. M.: Mirror, 2004.

14. Theory of State and Law/Ed. D. Yu. Sc., prof. V.D. Perevalova. M.: Norma, 2007.

15. Chirkin V.E. Statecraft. M.: Lawyer, 1999.

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Problems of creating a social state in Russia.

The definition of Russia as a social state was first declared in 1993. It was then that the Constitutional Conference worked on the text of the Basic Law of Russia.

This is how paragraph 1 appeared in Article 7 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. In subsequent years, scientists from the Academy of Labor and Social Relations, together with scientists and specialists from a number of other scientific and training centers with the support and active participation of trade unions, they continued to work on improving the model of the welfare state.

In 1996, during the work organized by the Academy of Labor and social relations and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia round table, on the topic “The Russian Federation is a social state,” the main criteria of a social state were formulated. A “social state” can be considered a state:

based on the rule of law and providing, first of all, guarantees of respect for human rights and freedoms;

creating the opportunity for citizens to freely realize their labor and intellectual potential so that on this basis they can provide for themselves and their family material well-being;

implementing, during any systemic and structural transformations in society, a strong, consistent social policy focused on the maximum possible investment in people, achieving high living standards for the majority of citizens, and targeted support for the most vulnerable layers and groups of the population;

in which any economic entity, any owner of the means of production bears a certain social burden;

creating favorable conditions for the real participation of citizens in the development and social examination management decisions at all levels of government and management;

recognizing and implementing the system of social partnership as the main mechanism for achieving social harmony, balancing the interests of the employee, employer, and state in regulating socio-economic and labor relations;

focused on strengthening the family - the main natural unit of society, on the spiritual, cultural, moral development of citizens, on caring for the heritage of ancestors and the continuity of generations, the preservation of original national and historical traditions.

Thus, in 2006, the main approaches to the content of the future Concept of the social state of the Russian Federation were formulated.

However, conservative theories are being imposed on Russian society, where the social role of the state is reduced to a minimum. IN modern world This is already a passed stage. Moreover, such theories are unacceptable in our society, which for a long time was focused on socialist principles of equality and justice. And although these principles were mainly populist and demagogic in nature, public consciousness was formed precisely on their basis.

The social sphere in the Russian Federation today creates many more complex questions than it receives adequate answers. Problems such as poverty, unemployment, crime, and many others have already become commonplace. We must pay tribute to the authorities, local self-government - in last years More and more attention is being paid to the social sphere. But, despite the many measures taken, no significant changes are noticeable.

In Russia, to date there has been no formation of sufficiently clear approaches to reforming the existing social protection system, which is characterized by an extremely high paternalistic role of the state and is extremely poorly defined. public institutions. Over the past years social protection The population of Russia was focused on targeted operational solutions to the most acute, crisis, life problems of certain categories of citizens on an application basis. At a certain stage, this path was the most realistic for the practical solution of problems in this area and seemed successful. However, time has shown that this approach does not provide long-term effect, since it is not aimed at preventing recurrences of crisis situations, at long-term social protection of each individual and the population as a whole.

State activities in the social sphere have so far which is not always sufficient and effective. In the context of the ongoing economic crisis, social assistance from the state does not yet guarantee a decent life, as is written in the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

Paragraph 2 of Article 7 of the Constitution gives some explanation of the responsibilities of the state:

Occupational safety and health;

Establishment of a guaranteed minimum wage;

Security state support family, motherhood, paternity and childhood, disabled people and senior citizens;

Development of the social services system;

Establishment of state pensions and benefits;

Other guarantees of social protection.

This list of social responsibilities of the state clearly lags behind those generally recognized in the constitutional theory and practice of developed countries. However, the term “social protection” introduced into the Constitution suggests the possibility of expanding these responsibilities in future legislation. Unfortunately, the constitutional text does not include the formula “socially oriented market economy", this would certainly be a significant addition and would reveal the content of the welfare state.

“There are significant shortcomings in the implementation of other areas of the state’s social policy, in particular in in the field of occupational safety and public health." 13 In recent years, there has been an increase in accident rates at enterprises, occupational diseases, a high level of industrial injuries, unfavorable ecological situation in a number of regions of the country, including the industrial centers of the Urals, Siberia, etc.

We can name some problems of creating a social state in Russia:

1. Russia has not yet found support in law, in human rights, and the social state in Russia cannot rely on the foundation of the rule of law: the creation of a social state in our country is not a new stage in the development of the rule of law (as was the case in the West);

2. a “middle layer” of owners has not been created in Russia: the overwhelming majority of the country’s population received nothing from the spontaneously privatized party-state property;

3. there is no powerful economic potential that would allow measures to redistribute income without significantly infringing on the freedom and autonomy of owners;

4. monopolies in the most important types of production and sales have not been eliminated, which leads to a lack of real competition;

5. there is no developed, mature civil society;

6. The level of morality in society has been reduced, the usual spiritual guidelines of justice and equality have been practically lost. The public consciousness is affirming (not without the help of “professional” ideologists and politicians, as well as the media) a pernicious idea of ​​the incompatibility, on the one hand, of morality, and on the other, of politics and economics (“politics is a dirty business”);

7. existing political parties in Russia do not have clear social programs and ideas about ways to reform society;

8. society lacks clearly defined real goals and scientifically proven models of life;

9. in the process of liberating Russian society from total state intervention, the social role of statehood has been reduced by inertia, that is, the Russian state has gone to the other extreme, leaving the citizen alone with the elements of the market.

And yet, despite the difficulties listed above, the development of social statehood is the only possible path for the free society that Russia wants to become.

Undoubtedly, the difficulties of the period Russia is going through have a negative impact on the state’s ability to pursue appropriate social policy. Only in conditions of complete recovery of the Russian economy can one count on social assistance from the state in an amount that truly allows for a decent life and free development of a person, as prescribed by the Constitution.

As the situation in the country’s economy stabilizes and citizens’ incomes begin to grow, the time comes to search for new approaches and forms of social security and social work.

Modern understanding of the welfare state

It should be noted that there were quite good reasons for expressing these ideas, since the state often acted in the interests of rich people, the economic structures they created, primarily powerful industrial and financial corporations, which had a strong influence on state bodies, the government, which often became their servant and carried out their will. As a result, the role of the state, as a body of the entire society called upon to express and protect its interests, was significantly reduced. As a result, the state often opposed the bulk of the population, causing them to negative attitude, which led to confrontation, class struggle and the desire of the people to destroy such a corrupt state.

Currently, there is an idea of ​​a social state as a certain type of state that has its own specific features. It is characterized as a democratic state with a stable, developed economy, which allows it to solve the main social issues of society.

As can be seen from the above, any state performs social functions to one degree or another and has certain social features. The term “welfare state” is intended to emphasize the ability of a modern state to implement social policy, that is, to ensure maximum employment of the population, create a health care system, including a free one, an education system, normal material living conditions for pensioners, the disabled, the unemployed, and low-income families. , the poor, fight crime, etc.

These areas of activity of modern civilized democratic states are becoming increasingly important. The ultimate goals of social policy are to achieve balance, stability and security of life in society, the integrity and dynamism of its development, provision of sufficient material, organizational and other resources, their progress and improvement, and ultimately the creation of conditions for a quiet life of citizens, their confidence in the future day.

It is known that calm and stability are maintained in society when the number of those dissatisfied or disagreeing with the policies pursued by the state is no more than twenty percent of the population. If this figure reaches twenty-five to thirty percent, then open protests against state power, legal clashes, and armed struggle are possible in society, which can lead to a violent change in the socio-political system of society, a significant decrease in the economic and social potential of the country. Therefore, a modern democratic state, in order to avoid these negative phenomena, must pursue social policy in the following main areas:

Scientific forecasting of economic development, population dynamics, creation of new industries and jobs in them, development of appropriate forecast plans, raw materials, technical, financial and personnel support for their implementation. This issue is resolved by a modern social state on the basis of market relations through optimal tax policy, subsidies, preferential loans, and subventions.

At the same time, the social state stimulates the development of private entrepreneurship, especially small businesses, in combination with repressive methods and the fight against drug trafficking, unfair competition, and monopolism in the economy.

Redistribution of material resources between regions, directing them to ensure the average standard of living achieved by a given country throughout the country, preventing mass, spontaneous migration of the population to the most affluent areas.

Regulating the standard of living of various segments of the population through taxes, providing charitable assistance and material support to the least affluent segments of the population.

Creation of state guarantees to prevent natural disasters, epidemics, epizootics, man-made disasters, quickly eliminate their consequences, and provide assistance to the affected population.

When carrying out social policy, the question inevitably arises about social priorities, that is, tasks that at this stage should be solved first. The choice of priorities, as a rule, occurs against the backdrop of a clash of interests of various layers, population groups, and regions. Social policy presupposes maximum consideration of the interconnection of these interests, determining the most important directions for the development of society, solving the most pressing and pressing problems, preventing social tension in society and possible conflicts.

The implementation of social policy presupposes its connection with the democratization of society, the use of democratic forms and methods in resolving issues of social policy, the free expression of opinions by all interested parties, their participation in monitoring the implementation of decisions made, and making, if necessary, certain adjustments.

Social policy is implemented through one-time events and long-term social programs. state social programs are developed, approved, implemented and financed by the state and its relevant bodies.

Social activities of the state can be carried out differently depending on the forms of ownership of material and financial resources in the social sphere, on the distribution of powers in resolving social issues between various government bodies, on the participation or non-participation in the social activities of the state of non-state structures and the formation of social states can be divided into several types.

Depending on the forms of ownership, social states can be divided into states based on state ownership of basic social resources and those based on private and state forms of ownership that are equal.

In states with a non-market economy and state ownership of all material and financial resources located in the social sphere, social security is carried out in relation to the entire population and at the expense of a single state budget, the funds of which are distributed centrally by government bodies between regions, various layers and groups of the population, in including their pension provision, provision of benefits, other social benefits, provision of housing, etc.

Such a social security system existed and exists in countries with non-market economies, where the state determines the amount of funds intended for housing construction and determines the procedure for providing it to various categories of citizens. The state also decides on the creation of educational institutions, the procedure for admission and training in them, the types and amounts of pensions, benefits, the nature of medical care, the creation and operation of theaters and other cultural institutions. At the same time, the volume and quality of social security for various categories of citizens depends on their official position, social status, and other criteria.

In the conditions of the existence of various forms of ownership and market relations, the social functions of the state are mainly aimed at socially disadvantaged segments of the population - disabled citizens, orphans, disabled people, large families, and the unemployed. As a rule, the rest of the population is not provided with social assistance by the state. They independently resolve their social issues on the basis of market relations and do not turn to the state for help.

Depending on the distribution of powers in resolving social issues, social states can be divided into the following types: a) states in which all powers in the social sphere belong to central government bodies; b) when these powers are distributed between central and local authorities, and in federal states also among the authorities of the constituent entities of the federation.

The first method of solving social problems is characterized by the fact that all material and financial resources intended for the social sphere are concentrated in a single state budget and their size and directions of expenditure are determined by central government bodies from the state budget. Local authorities do not take part in resolving social security issues and only implement the decisions of central authorities.

In the second case, regional bodies also have certain powers in solving social problems. This situation occurs when regions - subjects of the federation, local territorial entities - have the right to form and distribute their own budgets. In this case, part of the material and financial support of the social sphere falls on regional bodies, which independently or in agreement with central bodies resolve social issues within their powers.

Depending on the participation of non-state structures in the social activities of the state, social states can be divided into states in which such participation takes place or does not take place.

In the first case, along with funds allocated from the state or regional budgets, the functioning of some structures of the social sphere, for example, medical care, vocational education, social insurance, provision of material assistance to low-income people, can be carried out at the expense of private enterprises, other private enterprise structures, various kinds foundations, public formations. They create and finance the activities of medical institutions, housing for the homeless, orphanages, and other forms of social security for the population.

In the second case, everything social problems are resolved only by state bodies at the expense of the state budget. Non-state, private enterprise and other structures do not participate on an ongoing basis in resolving social issues.

In countries with a non-market economy, social sector institutions can not only be directly government-owned, but also be on the balance sheet of state-owned enterprises and institutions. However, funds for their creation, maintenance and service to the population are allocated centrally from the state budget by decision of the relevant government bodies. Therefore, the existence of social institutions at enterprises is formal. Essentially the entire social sphere is state-owned.

This distinction between social states is to a certain extent conditional, since each of the named types may contain elements of other types. Division may also be based on other reasons. However, it should be noted that modern social states differ in many ways from each other in methods, forms and nature of social activity, which provides sufficient grounds for dividing them into types.

4. The practice of establishing a rule of law state in Russia

In the post-October period in our country, due to objective and subjective factors, the ideas of the rule of law were first absorbed by the demands of revolutionary legal consciousness, and then completely excluded from real life. Legal nihilism with the concentration of real power in the hands of the party-state apparatus, the separation of this power from the people led to the complete denial in theory and practice of the legal organization of public life on the principles of justice and ultimately to the establishment of totalitarian statehood.

Soviet statehood during the period of totalitarianism did not accept the idea of ​​a legal state, considering it bourgeois, diametrically opposed to the class concept of the state.

Many key concepts of the past are repeated in a new round of historical development. Just a few years ago, the phrase “rule of law” was habitually associated with those sections of a university course where various modifications of Western doctrines with the same name were criticized and a “socialist rule of law” was proclaimed. The scientific meaning of the very combination “socialist rule of law state” is questionable. The adjective “socialist” indicates the dominant form of ownership and a certain ideology. Meanwhile, the idea of ​​a rule of law state is inseparable from a worldview that excludes this ideology. Moreover, the idea of ​​a rule of law already implies anti-socialism, i.e. private property as primary and initial. In our state, an attempt is being made not only to revive the idea of ​​the rule of law, but also to put it into practice. Of course, this path will be long, difficult and contradictory.

Real democratic transformations in our country in law began in the second half of the 80s during the years of perestroika, especially after the defeat of the August (1991) putsch. The principle of a “rule of law state” received general recognition, repressive and other reactionary institutions and provisions were abolished, democratic legislation and the justice system began to develop (the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation and the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation were created). In October 1991 The Supreme Council of the Russian Federation approved the concept of judicial reform, which is aimed at establishing the judiciary in the state mechanism as an independent influential force, independent in its activities from the legislative and executive authorities.

The Russian state recognizes the priority of human rights and freedoms, that the observance and protection of human rights and freedoms, honor and dignity is the main responsibility of state power.

The process of forming a rule of law presupposes the creation of a system of political, legal and other guarantees that would ensure the reality of these constitutional provisions, the equality of all before the law and the court, and the mutual responsibility of the state and the individual.

One of the most important tasks associated with the formation of a rule of law state should be considered the development and improvement of legislation, the formation of an essentially new legal system. Currently, in my opinion, a sufficient number of legislative acts have been adopted that create the basis for further development our state as a democratic, legal state. This is primarily the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Law on Citizenship, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the Labor and Housing Codes of the Russian Federation.

The main thing, in my opinion, is the creation of conditions and effective mechanisms for the normal functioning of the adopted

Russian healthcare system: economic problems of development

The problems that have accumulated in Russian healthcare are causing serious concern in society, and a consensus has almost formed that significant changes are needed in this area. This is evidenced by both objective and subjective indicators characterizing such parameters of the Russian healthcare system as - the state of health of the population; - the state of the healthcare system itself; - the population’s assessment of their health status and their attitude towards the healthcare system in general and reforms in particular.

The population's subjective assessment of their health confirms the statistics. Sociological surveys show low self-esteem of the population's health status. The population's subjective assessment of health care reform is quite wary. This indicates that there has not yet been a significant improvement in the situation in the health care system.

I would also like to draw attention to the global challenges to the healthcare systems that have now formed in developed countries. The health system can be organized in many different ways, but health care as a system on a global scale is currently experiencing serious problems that require a response and will clearly shape its organization in the future. Population aging has become the most important socio-demographic problem in developed countries. On the one hand, there is an increase in demand for medical services, and on the other, an increase in the demographic burden on workers, which complicates the problem of financing healthcare. The increase in demand for medical services is also caused by the development of modern technologies, which provide new opportunities in the treatment of various diseases, and, accordingly, the ground for the emergence of new expectations from the population.

Growing inequality in access to health services noted by many experts, and this despite the fact that recently this issue has attracted attention at the highest levels. There is a change in trends in the health status and morbidity structure of the population. Chronic diseases are coming to the fore in developed countries, which require different approaches to organizing treatment and prevention than infectious diseases.

Health threats arise from human actions, human-environment interactions, and accidents and natural disasters. These include the problem with vaccination. The voluntariness of vaccination in many countries and a false sense of security, when in conditions of a high level of vaccination the risk of disease decreases and parents refuse vaccinations, can in turn lead to a decrease in the level of vaccination, an increase in the risk of morbidity and epidemics. The evolution of viruses and increasing their resistance to appropriate drugs leads to the emergence of new and resumption of already known infectious diseases. Epidemics of infections such as HIV and bird flu have appeared. The other side of risks is related to human activities. The life of society became largely dependent on atomic energy and chemical processes. Therefore, the epidemiological situation depends on the safety of the corresponding facilities and the correct use of the resulting products.

Introduction... ……………………………………………………………………….. 3

1. 4

2. 7

3. 8

4. 11

Conclusion. 17

List of used literature……………………………..……...….1 9

Introduction.

Modern world practice has tested and implements various models development of states. In the second half of the last century, many European countries established constitutionally and put into practice democratic social models. the main task social development society determines the main directions of social policy, the implementation of which in practice will lead to the creation of the most important elements of a social state. These include: occupational safety and health; establishment of a guaranteed minimum wage; ensuring state support for family, motherhood, paternity and childhood, disabled people and elderly citizens; development of the social service system; establishment of state pensions, benefits and other guarantees of social protection. This paper examines the main features that distinguish any state pursuing a socially oriented policy, regardless of whether it is declared so in the constitution or not. The Constitution of the Russian Federation proclaims: “The Russian Federation is a social state, the policy of which is aimed at creating conditions that ensure a decent life and free development of people.” It follows that the Russian state is obliged to fulfill a whole range of obligations in the field of social protection and social development. The problems of establishing a social state in our country will also be discussed in this work.

  1. The concept of a social state.


The concept of a “welfare state” was first put forward in the mid-nineteenth century by the famous German government scientist and economist Lorenz von Stein. He believed that the idea of ​​the state was to restore equality and freedom, to raise the lower, disadvantaged classes to the level of the rich and powerful, that the state should “carry out the economic and social progress of all its members, since the development of one is a condition and consequence of the development of the other and in In this sense we are talking about a public or social state.” The social state, according to Stein, must not only legitimize and protect the dominant, but also consciously serve the interests of the people. IN this definition In essence, the sociological approach to the state (as an arena of class struggle) is being overcome. The equality of all people is highlighted as one of the characteristics of a social state, the dominant role of the “individual-state” statement is recognized instead of the previous “state-society”, and the main goal of the state is economic and social progress.

Stein's views were also shared by the liberal scientist Friedrich Naumann. His ideas about the active intervention of the state in economic and social relations became a traditional essential element of early German liberalism. Liberals set the state the task of not only protecting property and social order, but also materially and morally raising the lower classes through broad social reforms. The most radical theoretical basis The social state was put forward in 1879 by the German economist Adolf Wagner, who defined his views as social and legal. His concept provided for the transformation of the bourgeois state into a “state of culture and general welfare”, nationalization railways, mining enterprises, banks and insurance organizations, the integration of the working class into the state and society while denying political and social revolutions.” Subsequently, the idea of ​​a social state begins to receive increasing recognition and is embodied in the practice and constitutions of modern states. The state was first called social in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949. One way or another, the principle of sociality is expressed in the constitutions of France, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, Spain, Greece, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Japan and other states. Of great importance for the theory and practice of the social state was the teaching of the English economist J. Keynes, under the influence of whose views the concept of the welfare state was formed, based on the increase in the social function of the state, formulated as follows: a social state is a legal democratic state that proclaims the highest value of man and creates conditions for ensuring a decent life, free development and self-realization of the creative (labor) potential of the individual. A person’s decent life is understood as his material security at the level of the standards of a modern developed society, access to cultural values, guarantee of personal security rights, and the free development of a person means his physical, mental and moral improvement.

The welfare state is the most appropriate way to combine the principles of freedom and power in order to ensure the well-being of the individual and the well-being of society, ensuring social justice and solidarity in the distribution of the products of labor. Social justice and social solidarity provide for the implementation in practice of such provisions as: joint responsibility of generations and classes the rich pay for the poor; the healthy pay for the sick; those who are able to work pay for those who are still or already unable to work; security equal rights and equal opportunities for men and women.

This state does not strive for equalization by renouncing freedom, as the socialist state did. On the contrary, it links freedom and social protection of socially weaker strata (unemployed, disabled, disabled, etc.), since there is a certain contradiction between these goals. The welfare state, as it were, corrects the formalism of the concepts of “freedom” and “equality”, helping people who are unenterprising and poor.

The existence and activity of a welfare state is closely connected with such social phenomena as democracy, civil society, the rule of law, freedom and equality, and human rights.

Along with the concept of a social state, the terms “welfare state” (from the English Welfare state), “welfare state”, “welfare state”, widespreadpredominantly in English-speaking countries and widely used in propaganda. However, the concept of a social state more accurately and completely reflects the multifaceted activities of the modern state in the field of socio-economic and other social relations and therefore provides greater opportunities for studying this phenomenon.

  1. The essence of the concept of “social state”.


The opinions of most scientists on the question of what constitutes a social state as scientific category What is its essence as a social phenomenon differ somewhat.

The Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, one of the initiators of introducing a provision on a social state into the text of the Russian Constitution, M. V. Baglay, believed that social “is a state that takes upon itself the responsibility to take care of social justice, the well-being of its citizens, and their social security.” .
Significant scientific interest present approaches to the interpretation of the essence of the social state of foreign researchers. It is typical for German scientists, first of all, to link the activities of such a state for the social protection of citizens and a market economy, based on private initiative and generating funds for social programs.
According to H. Bayer, “a modern social state is a centrally managed concern for the provision of all citizens in all situations in life, which is revealed as the primary manifestation of modern democracy, despite the fact that social justice is based on economic liberalism.”

  1. Signs of a welfare state.

A welfare state is a modern type of rule of law state that expediently combines the principles of freedom and power in order to ensure the well-being of the individual and the well-being of society. In a social state, every citizen should have access to the fullness of the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the constitution and a high level of legal protection of all citizens should be ensured.

A truly social state is possible only in conditions of democracy, civil society and must be legal in modern meaning this characteristic. Currently, a legal state must be social, and a social state cannot but be legal.
In addition, only a state with a high level of economic development, and the structure of the economy should take into account social orientation states.

It is also worth taking into account the moral side of the process of establishing a social state. The spiritual atmosphere in a social state should be characterized by a developed sense of citizenship, social solidarity and humanism.

Based on the above, we can conclude that necessary conditions and the characteristic features of a welfare state are:

  1. Democratic organization of state power.
  2. High moral level of citizens and, above all, state officials.
  3. Powerful economic potential, allowing for measures to redistribute income without significantly infringing on the position of owners.
  4. The socially oriented structure of the economy, which is manifested in the existence of various forms of ownership with a significant share of state ownership in the necessary areas of the economy.
  5. Legal development of the state, the presence of the qualities of a rule-of-law state.
  6. The existence of civil society, in the hands of which the state acts as an instrument for carrying out socially oriented policies.
  7. A clearly expressed social orientation of state policy, which is manifested in the development of various social programs and the priority of their implementation.
  8. The state has such goals as establishing the common good, establishing social justice in society, providing each citizen with:

a) decent living conditions;

b) social security;

c) equal starting opportunities for personal self-realization.

  1. The presence of developed social legislation (legislation on social protection of the population, for example the Code of Social Laws, as is the case in Germany).
  2. Consolidation of the “welfare state” formula in the country’s constitution.

The degree of sociality of legal democratic state can be assessed according to the following criteria:

  1. respect for human rights and freedoms;
  2. pursuing an active and strong social policy;
  3. ensuring decent living standards for the majority of citizens;
  4. targeted support for the most vulnerable layers and groups of the population, poverty reduction and elimination;
  5. guarantees of creating favorable conditions for the real participation of citizens in the development and social examination of decisions at all levels of government and management;
  6. observance of rights and guarantees that recognize and develop the system of social partnership as the main mechanism for achieving public consent and a balance of interests of the employee and employer with the regulatory role of the state;
  7. guarantees under which any business entity, any owner must bear specific social responsibility;
  8. rights and guarantees aimed at strengthening the family, spiritual, cultural, moral development of citizens and, above all, youth; to respect the heritage of ancestors and the continuity of generations, preserving the identity of national and historical traditions.
  1. Problems of creating a social state in Russia.


The definition of Russia as a social state was first declared in 1993. It was then that the Constitutional Conference worked on the text of the Basic Law of Russia. At the request of the meeting members, in May 1993, the Academy of Labor and Social Relations convened a congress to discuss the topic “Man, social policy, social partnership.” Following the results of the congress, a proposal was made to the Constitutional Conference to take the model of a social state as an idea for the constitutional structure of Russia. At the same time, we studied various theories government structure: elites, convergence, pluralistic democracy, historical-materialist, welfare state, as well as various economic models, including those based on liberal principles, on the principles of Keynesianism. At the same time, the experience was analyzed Western countries who have chosen the model of a social state for themselves. Taking into account the previous experience of socialization of life in our country, the mentality of the peoples of Russia, the choice was made on the model of a social state.
This is how paragraph 1 appeared in Article 7 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. In subsequent years, scientists from the Academy of Labor and Social Relations, together with scientists and specialists from a number of other scientific and educational centers, with the support and active participation of trade unions, continued to work on improving the model of the welfare state.

In 1996, during a round table organized by the Academy of Labor and Social Relations and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia, the main criteria of a social state were formulated on the topic “Russian Federation social state”. A “social state” can be considered a state:

  1. based on the rule of law and providing, first of all, guarantees of respect for human rights and freedoms;
  2. creating the opportunity for citizens to freely realize their labor and intellectual potential so that on this basis they can ensure material well-being for themselves and their family;
  3. implementing, during any systemic and structural transformations in society, a strong, consistent social policy focused on the maximum possible investment in people, achieving high living standards for the majority of citizens, and targeted support for the most vulnerable layers and groups of the population;
  4. in which any economic entity, any owner of the means of production bears a certain social burden;
  5. creating favorable conditions for the real participation of citizens in the development and social examination of management decisions at all levels of government and management;
  6. recognizing and implementing the system of social partnership as the main mechanism for achieving social harmony, balancing the interests of the employee, employer, and state in regulating socio-economic and labor relations;
  7. focused on strengthening the family - the main natural unit of society, on the spiritual, cultural, moral development of citizens, on caring for the heritage of ancestors and the continuity of generations, the preservation of original national and historical traditions.

Thus, in 2006, the main approaches to the content of the future Concept of the social state of the Russian Federation were formulated.
However, conservative theories are being imposed on Russian society, where the social role of the state is reduced to a minimum. In the modern world, this stage has already been passed. Such theories are even more unacceptable in our society, which has long been oriented towards socialist principles of equality and justice. And although these principles were mainly populist and demagogic in nature, public consciousness was formed precisely on their basis.
Interesting way solutions to the problem of equality in a post-totalitarian society were proposed by V.S. Nersesyants. According to his concept, socialism is not an accidental dead-end branch of the development of society, but a natural, logical process leading to the creation of so-called civilism - a post-socialist system, where universal formal legal equality will be supplemented by a fundamentally new element - economic equality of all citizens. Privatization and desocialization of property carried out in Russia will inevitably be carried out in such a way that economic inequality will continue. And no social assistance can compensate for the difference between the owner and the non-owner. Only the transformation of socialist property into equal civil property creates the condition for “a higher level of human freedom, equality, justice and law.”
The social sphere in the Russian Federation today creates many more complex questions than it receives adequate answers. Problems such as poverty, unemployment, crime, and many others have already become commonplace. We must pay tribute to the authorities and local governments - in recent years, more and more attention has been paid to the social sphere. But, despite the many measures taken, no significant changes are noticeable.

In Russia, to date, there has been no formation of sufficiently clear approaches to reforming the existing social protection system, which is characterized by an extremely high paternalistic role of the state and extremely poorly defined public institutions. Over the past years, social protection of the population of Russia has been focused on targeted operational solutions to the most acute, crisis, life problems of certain categories of citizens on an application basis. At a certain stage, this path was the most realistic for the practical solution of problems in this area and seemed successful. However, time has shown that this approach does not provide a long-term effect, since it is not aimed at preventing the recurrence of crisis situations, at long-term social protection of each individual and the population as a whole.

The activities of the state in the social sphere are not always sufficient and effective. In the context of the ongoing economic crisis, social assistance from the state does not yet guarantee a decent life, as is written in the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
Paragraph 2 of Article 7 of the Constitution gives some explanation of the responsibilities of the state:

Occupational safety and health;

Establishing a guaranteed minimum wage - ensuring state support for family, motherhood, paternity and childhood, disabled people and elderly citizens;

Development of the social services system;

Establishment of state pensions and benefits;

Other guarantees of social protection.

This list of social responsibilities of the state clearly lags behind those generally recognized in the constitutional theory and practice of developed countries. However, the term “social protection” introduced into the Constitution suggests the possibility of expanding these responsibilities in future legislation. Unfortunately, the constitutional text does not include the formula “socially oriented market economy”; this, of course, would be a significant addition and would reveal the content of the welfare state.

“There are significant shortcomings in the implementation of other areas of the state’s social policy, in particular in the field of labor protection and public health.” In recent years, there has been an increase in accident rates at enterprises, occupational diseases, a high level of industrial injuries, and an unfavorable environmental situation in a number of regions of the country, including in the industrial centers of the Urals, Siberia, etc.

To summarize, we can formulate some problems of creating a social state in Russia:

  1. Russia has not yet found support in law, in human rights, and the social state in Russia cannot rely on the foundation of the rule of law: the creation of a social state in our country is not a new stage in the development of the rule of law (as was the case in the West);
  2. a “middle layer” of owners has not been created in Russia: the overwhelming majority of the country’s population received nothing from the spontaneously privatized party-state property;
  3. there is no powerful economic potential that would allow measures to redistribute income without significantly infringing on the freedom and autonomy of owners;
  4. monopolies in the most important types of production and sales have not been eliminated, which leads to a lack of real competition;
  5. there is no developed, mature civil society;
  6. the level of morality in society has been reduced, the usual spiritual guidelines of justice and equality have been practically lost. The public consciousness is affirming (with the help of “professional” ideologists and politicians, as well as the media) a pernicious idea of ​​the incompatibility, on the one hand, of morality, and on the other, of politics and economics (“politics is a dirty business”);
  7. existing political parties in Russia do not have clear social programs and ideas about ways to reform society;
  8. in society there are no clearly defined real goals, scientifically verified models of life;
  9. in the process of liberating Russian society from total state intervention, the social role of statehood was reduced by inertia, that is, the Russian state has gone to the other extreme, leaving the citizen alone with the elements of the market.

Undoubtedly, the difficulties of the period Russia is going through have a negative impact on the state’s ability to pursue appropriate social policy. Only in conditions of complete recovery of the Russian economy can one count on social assistance from the state in an amount that truly allows for a decent life and free development of a person, as prescribed by the Constitution.

As the situation in the country’s economy stabilizes and citizens’ incomes begin to grow, the time comes to search for new approaches and forms of social security and social work.

Conclusion.


Determining the ways of development of our society, justifying the limits of state intervention in the economic and social spheres, its regulatory role in the distribution of property, strengthening the social function of the state and increasing its responsibility for creating decent living conditions for its citizens are urgent tasks of legal science.
Article 7 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation proclaims one of the fundamental principles of the activities of a modern democratic state, according to which the creation of conditions that ensure a decent life and free development of a person is not a purely personal matter of the person himself and his parents, but is elevated to the rank of national policy. If a person, for one reason or another beyond his control, cannot provide for himself financially and becomes socially unprotected, the state provides him with the necessary assistance and support free of charge.

The meaning and pathos of such a duty of the state is based on a very simple, but very binding provision: every person has the right to count on a standard of living that would allow him not only to exist, but also to form and express himself as an individual, to take direct part in the production of material and spiritual good
Currently, this right is most fully and consistently enshrined in Art. 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

“Everyone has the right to an adequate standard of living, including food, clothing, housing, medical care and essential social services, which is necessary to maintain the health and well-being of himself and his family, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, illness, disability, widowhood, old age or other loss of livelihood due to circumstances beyond his control. Maternity and infancy give the right to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, should enjoy the same social protection.”

The competence of a social legal state that ensures a gradual transition to equality, justice and morality is an important aspect of the model of a new society that should be formed in Russia.

List of used literature.

  1. Baieva N.A. Social state and its main criteria. Collection of works Northern. Kav. GTU. Issue 6. North. Kav. GTU, 2004.
  2. Goncharov P.K. Welfare state: essence and principles. // Bulletin of the Russian Peoples' Friendship University. - Ser.: Political science. - 2000. - No. 2 - P. 46-59.
  3. Gritsenko N.N. The concept of a welfare state.
  4. Kamenetsky V.A., Patrikeev V.P. Problems of formation of a social state. - M.: ATiSO, 2001. - 359 p.
  5. Constitution of the Russian Federation. - M.: Os-89, 2008. 48 p.
  6. The concept of the social state of the Russian Federation. - Developed by a temporary creative team.

The social state has its own internal contradictions and goes through certain stages of formation and development. These contradictions and problems were reflected in a broad discussion about the crisis of the social state and its future, which unfolded in foreign scientific and political literature in the 80-90s. The processes that caused the aggravation of the problems of the welfare state are based on the cyclicality and unevenness of economic development, the exposure of the economy and social sphere to the influence of events in foreign and domestic policy. The global economic crisis destroyed the illusion of harmony between economic growth and the ever-expanding practice of centralized distribution of socio-economic benefits, showed the presence of serious monetary problems and the impossibility of endless exploitation of cheap imported raw materials. A new intensification of the discussion about the crisis and prospects for the welfare state followed the destruction of socialism in the countries of Eastern Europe, the economic difficulties of Germany caused by the development of the annexed East German lands, and the further expansion of the European Union. These global geopolitical and economic shifts have revealed the complexity of interaction between society and the state. They showed the inconsistency of both simplistic liberal model, based on the separation of the public and state spheres and the subsequent limitation of the legitimate position of the state, up to the model of a “minimal state”, which has the function of only ensuring the security of the state, and a simplified social model based on the passive, subordinate position of society and the active interventionist policy of the state. The rise of the welfare state in the twentieth century coincides with the improvement of the structural separation between society and state. The main area of ​​regulation of interaction between the state and society is the establishment of an optimal relationship between production and distribution, and the main contradiction of the social state is the contradiction between expanding social policy and economic growth, economic difficulties and the need to finance social costs.

A certain conflict between the individual and the state also poses a serious problem. It manifests itself in the fact that, on the one hand, citizens want the state to really know about their problems and, therefore, be able to implement effective policies to ensure welfare and support; on the other hand, they strive to prevent the state from having information that they have, think and do. The development of a social state in this context can be interpreted as a process of socialization of private needs, when an individual’s economic resources, health, housing needs, ability and desire to work cease to be a private matter and become public problems. Another serious reason for discussing the crisis of the social state is the expansion, duplication, especially in conditions of a complex territorial structure, and bureaucratization of the state and administrative apparatus. This leads to an increase in costs for the public service, a decrease in efficiency in the provision of social assistance, and ultimately to a loss of efficiency of state support.

To identify the scale and depth of the crisis of the social state, as well as to determine ways to overcome its current difficulties, an analysis of the nature of this crisis is of great methodological importance. It is necessary to find out whether it is possible to eliminate crisis manifestations within the framework of the current social model using its inherent traditional mechanisms, or whether it is necessary to go beyond the framework of this model and move to the use of fundamentally different management methods in order to ensure a new equilibrium of the system.

In this regard, the experience of solving acute socio-economic problems in the 80s in France and Spain is indicative, which demonstrated that the model of the welfare state that emerged in the 60s and 70s requires serious adjustments. Thus, after winning the presidential elections and holding early parliamentary elections in 1981, F. Mitterrand tried to implement an ambitious program that included the main set of traditional socialist ideas: broad nationalization, active introduction of the state into economic management, expansion of workers’ rights in production, etc. d.

However, the results were opposite to those expected.

Inflation has increased, the deficit has increased foreign trade, the number of strikes increased. After the next parliamentary elections, the right-wing government again came to power, curtailing the socialist program. Taking into account the example of France, the Spanish government of F. Gonzalez, leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, chose the path of neoliberal reforms from the very beginning. At the same time, the examples given do not mean that the welfare state model is historically exhausted, since it has not yet been fully implemented in any country. Despite the fact that in theory the social state is often contrasted with the liberal state, in practice these categories cannot always be considered as alternative. Even such a typically “liberal” state as the USA implements powerful national social programs. Among the measures to overcome crisis phenomena in the social state, constant control over the activities of the state apparatus, both from the point of view of its effectiveness and legality, should also occupy an important place.

At the same time, it is not enough to limit ourselves to internal control within the administration itself or external (accounting, financial) control. What is required is expansion of parliamentary control over the entire range of government activities, regardless of whether they are carried out directly by the administration or indirectly by institutions and organizations created by it. Representatives of the people have full right to inspect public funds and activities public services who manage them. Democratic principles require control not only of major policy decisions, but also inspection of the day-to-day activities of the administration. In general, the social state requires a broad revision of the instruments of control of our parliamentarism, which are still not effective enough. Complex theoretical and practical problems also arise in connection with the need to adapt the existing model of the welfare state to modern trends in global development.

Firstly, the implementation of the principle of freedom of international trade gives rise to freedom of competition. However, high social spending in developed countries lead to a corresponding increase in production costs and a decrease in the competitiveness of these countries' products on the world market. Thus, a contradiction inevitably arises between the need to pursue a policy of protectionism and its inconsistency with the principle of free trade. Secondly, the principle of freedom of movement or freedom of migration confronts developed countries with a choice: to impose the burden of social support for immigrants on their own citizens or to strictly regulate the entry of citizens from less developed countries. Thirdly, the processes of economic and political integration of more and more countries into European Union are accompanied by the promotion of problems of social equality to the international, pan-European level. The search for solutions to these problems is carried out within the framework of the development and implementation of the concept of one social space set out in the European Social Charter, through the implementation of special social programs and with the help of the European social fund and other institutions. It should be noted that on international level just as in the national one, the question of a social state is not in terms of finding alternatives to it, but in the aspect of its improvement in the face of new challenges of the time.