IV. Social protection: Concept, Occurrence, Development

4.1. Social protection: concept, the purposes and functions

The system of social protection of the population is one of institutes of realisation of the social and economic policy which purpose consists in maintenance of social stability and steady economic development of a society.

The effective mechanism of protection of able-bodied population is necessary for achievement of this purpose from social risks. Social risks are: illness, physical inability, loss of the supporter, a traumatism, unemployment, migration, loss

Habitation, the old age, poverty and to it can be subject any person during the life.

Population social protection is understood now as set of legislatively established economic, social, legal guarantees and the rights, social institutes and the establishments providing their realisation and creating conditions for maintenance of a life of various social strata and groups of the population, first of all, socially vulnerable.

The social protection system should guarantee:

1. Worthy social existence of the person, respect of its honour and advantages;

2. As much as possible full coverage of social space for it is impossible to protect those who is not included in system;

3. Uniform and equilibrium distribution of services, payments and privileges within the limits of all social system;

4. Efficiency of functioning of establishments of social protection.

Object of social protection – all groups of the population. However special priorities thus have its vulnerable layers: families with low incomes, invalids, aged, children-orphans, lonely and parents having many children, a victim of ecological disasters.

In world practice allocate two types of social protection of the population – active and passive social protection. Active social protection is focused on able-bodied members of a society are assumed also by creation of conditions for self-defence of people, first of all, through active actions on a labour market and through their participation in social insurance.

Passive social protection is aimed at invalid and socially vulnerable levels of population and consists, first of all, in direct material support.

In this connection exists two basic approaches to understanding of essence of social protection:

1. Social protection is a social security of citizens and members of their families, transformed to new social and economic conditions:

2. Population social protection is the social help rendered to separate categories of people in the form of granting of social payments, the natural help and social services and having address character.

International the organisation of work carries social insurance and the social help to social protection. In conventions the main principles of social protection of the population are formulated, the minimum level of various kinds of the social is regulated

Protection and population categories on which they should extend. National systems of social protection are formed on the basis of conventions the taking into account specificity of economic, social and cultural development of the concrete country.

Bismarck to avoid Germany creation of independent system by workers, accepts a series of social laws: the law on insurance on a case of illness (1884), the law about insurance upon accidents (1885), the law on insurance in connection with an old age and physical inability (1891). The created system of social protection has been connected at that time in Germany, basically, hardly at the industrial enterprises.

In Sweden development of system of social insurance has begun at the same time, as in Germany, in 80th years of a XIX-th century, and the main attention at first was given to the social help on to work place. Since 1913 the first national program of social security (system of national pensions) has started to be carried out. The following, third stage of development of social insurance in Sweden is connected with an exit of the Law on social services in 1982, including all spheres of social activity of the state.

In the USA as the American scientists write, the federal government “long time did not feel behind itself any responsibility for charity”. Certainly, it created hospitals, agencies, but, as a whole, a policy did not define. Researchers consider that it has been connected with features of occurrence of the state USA. The United States the belief long reigned that each person is the master of fate and the state should not interfere with his life as the success is predetermined by the supreme. Care in the poor incurred, as it has been told above, the charitable organisations.

The important sign of the American society constructed by a principle “help itself”, there was a readiness of people to help each other. The help appeared neighbours in ethnic groups and has been directed on overcoming of the difficulties connected with resettlement. It promoted formation of a phenomenal sense of responsibility of everyone for the general blessing. The need and poverty were considered more often as result of personal errors. Therefore from the person it was expected that it will find forces and can refuse the help for the blessing another. And only when industrialisation began to transform promptly the USA, it became clear that poverty not is a consequence of errors of the person.

The experience of social support of the population stored for decades allows to reveal the general and especial in practice of social activity of the countries of market economy.

It is noticed that almost all countries use social insurance for the majority of the population on a case of social risk: the old age, illness, physical inability, unemployment also render the social help to the people who are below the breadline.

4.2 Social protection in the countries of Europe.

Almost all countries of Western Europe use social insurance on a case of social risk and render the social help to the people who are below the breadline.

However systems of social insurance and the social help in these countries are realised on a miscellaneous and in this connection they can be divided into four groups:

1. The countries where insurance principles where the sizes of payments and grants are connected with individual insurance payments dominate;

2. The countries where insurance principles of social protection of the population are less expressed where the sizes of grants and payments more correspond to individual requirements,

And financing is carried out basically from tax funds;

3. The countries taking of an intermediate position between first two;

4. The countries, where systems of social protection of the population as that while is not present, it only is formed.

Germany, France, Belgium and Luxembourg concern the first group. In these countries of system of protection of the population are based on contract-insurance principles. Hired workers pay a certain part of the incomes in insurance fund that grants it the right to take advantage of fund services when it to be necessary the help in the sizes corresponding to accumulation in insurance fund. Simultaneously employers on behalf of the hired workers also deduct the certain sums of this insurance background.

The second group of the countries which concern Great Britain, Denmark, Ireland, differs from the first that social protection is to a lesser degree connected with insurance accumulation. In these countries the big role in financing of social sphere is played by the state budget. Social payments and grants are distributed in regular more intervals. At the heart of such distribution the idea that people are equal in need lies, therefore the social help should be rendered, proceeding from requirements of the person, instead of from its former incomes. The difference between payments and grants consists in basic that social payments are obligatory, each citizen has the right to apply for them under the law, and grants are given by not all, depending on needs and character of social risk. In these countries the health services are concentrated basically in public sector.

The Netherlands and Italy concern the third group of the countries, representing the mixed system of social security. However their systems are closer to systems of the first group of the countries. But there are also certain differences. In Italy, for example, the state does not incur the obligation on payment of the guaranteed social minimum of incomes. Such guarantees give only some local authorities in separate areas. In the Netherlands, on the contrary, the social maintenance is at very high step of development, and the system covers each inhabitant of the country.

Spain, Portugal, Greece concern the fourth group of the countries. Systems of social protection of the population of these countries are while in embryo. In these countries there is no guaranteed minimum income, and social service is accessible not all to citizens.