Nowadays, in different countries of the world there are various models of social policy. In Russia today, much remains to be done to become a social state, not in words but in action, as it is written in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The very first system of social protection of the population is the social insurance policy created in the 19th century by German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck , which included the introduction of special programs for various social groups. Such a system was considered corporate-conservative, as it was oriented towards social differences. The rights of citizens depended on their social status.
There are three models in current European countries. social policies that can be called conservative, US-British and social democratic.
In the first model, the state is only responsible for issuing social benefits. This model is adhered to in Germany, France, Austria, Belgium. In 1946, the so-called “social market economy” was introduced in 1946, the idea of which was to create conditions for the self-realization of citizens in the economy. Social insurance funds are financed by the employer and employee and are divided by type of activity. In such a model social policy, the insurance principle meant the right to receive services to those who made contributions to the funds.
Another model, called the British or US-British, is a system that allows the government to give citizens only a living wage.
Benefits are paid to everyone who is near the subsistence level. This is targeted social assistance to the poorest people. The state adhere to such a model of social policy in England, the United States of America, and Australia.
And finally, another model was implemented in the Kingdom of Sweden. This social democratic model is also called the Scandinavian, as it operates in several countries of Scandinavia - Norway, Finland and Denmark. In the Scandinavian model, the degree of redistribution of income and expenses is significantly higher compared to the previous two models. Representatives of different social groups have the same rights regarding social security. In the Kingdom of Sweden, the Social Democrats created a system that was based on ensuring a living wage common to all. In this model social In politics, the state, mainly responsible for the social support of the population of its country, assumes a significant share of the costs. A significant role in social policy (culture, healthcare, education) was given to municipalities. The developers of “Swedish socialism” call the main objectives of social policy 100% employment and equalization of income. Achieving these goals is carried out through the redistribution of income, through tax policy,
For Russia, the Scandinavian option would probably be most interesting, since in our country the experience of social partnership is relatively small, and the trade unions are still rather weak. The social-democratic version of the social state would allow a compromise between the state, labor and capital. The early introduction of a progressive scale into the tax system, as in the Scandinavian model, would contribute to the implementation of greater social justice in Russia. Such a paternalistic model of social policy would be of interest to most Russians. However, it is unlikely that it will be possible to come to a policy of social responsibility in Russia until the neoliberal attitudes are directed towards social solidarity and social partnership.