调整中的西欧各国社会保障制度

Social Security System of West European Countries in the Course of Readjustment

西欧现代的社会保障制度发源于19世纪欧洲的工业化进程,以及随之而来的城镇化和政治民主化的发展。现代社会保障制度的要旨是国家通过立法和行政的手段将社会保险、社会补贴、社会救助、社会服务等项措施推而广之,乃至在全社会的范围内实行收入的再分配,俾使社会成员都能在退休、疾病、伤残、失业时得到基本的生活保障,从而达到稳定社会,保证社会再生产顺利进行的目的。这种现代化的社会保障形式在20世纪,特别是在第二次世界大战后的西欧各国得到了迅速的发展。

1950s and 1960s saw rapid developmeut of social security cause in West European countries when growth rate of expenditure for the public welfare exceeded that of GNP in many of these countries. However, economy in the West began to slow down its pace since the 1970s, thus making these welfare countries face ever-growing financial crises. Under the circumstances, doubts and questions on the social security of these countries emerged in the minds of some people. Under the pressure coming from both economic decline and ideological dispute, West European countries began reforming and readjusting their own social security systems in accordance with their various conditions. In this article, the author mainly makes her case study of UK, FRG and Sweden. Policy readjustment and privatization of facilities concerned are the major reforms of social security system carried out in UK. Welfare contraction policy adopted by the FRG government along with the further development of its welfare system is quite in keeping with tentative technological readjustment in the course of its economic growth. Cuts of specific projects, readjustment and privatization can be roughly summaried as the three steps taken by the Swedish government in this respect.