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Introduction:

There are many discussions about welfare systems, their function and impact on the 
societies and people&acute;s lives. One is how much a society shall support and promote a 
given activity in the society and at its citizens, like education and health. Another is 
to which degree circumstances leading to difficulties of any kind for people, like 
sickness and unemployment, fall back on people themselves to solve, or it is an issue 
for the whole society to take care of? How much shall the society interfere and take 
responsibility, and how much is it an individual issue? Every society has chosen 
their specific balance between these two contradicting approaches to how to live 
ones life being part of a society. 
 
All European countries have in general a kind of welfare strategy. The different 
European welfare states, well fare systems, are variations over the theme: common 
solutions or individual solutions, due to different historical, social and economical 
developments. The Scandinavian welfare state is normally seen to be the most 
developed welfare model with a common approach,paid by tax money, to most of 
the important aspects of the societal life. Other countries apply individual insurances, 
and individual saving up, as the net of security and the means for people to acquire 
access to benefits. 
 
There are different ways to how to structure a welfare system and to how much, and 
how many, it is supposed to cover. Two principal approaches are mentioned below: 
A universal, tax paid approach and a more individualized model, paid by insurance. 
 
1) The universal welfare model is a system that covers all citizens in the society, no 
matter their individual economical situation and the main societal aspects of the 
citizen. It is assumed to be beneficial for not only the citizens themselves, but also 
the society, to maintain a reasonable life situation. This can be access to education, 
free health service, pension to the elder etc. These are rights, maybe even laws, passed 
by the parliament, and mainly paid through the taxes. In this way the model also serves 
as a distributor of wealth from rich to poor. 
Main themes: Social security, equal opportunities and high economical level of 
everyone in the society. Common financing of the well fare system, principal goods 
and services free for the individual. Distribution of wealth from rich to poor. 
Cooperation and equal opportunities as main driving forces in the society. Solidarity. 
 
2) A more individualized, insurance paid approach: 
The access to goods, possibilities and services are the responsibility of the individual 
themselves, like education, health issues, pensions etc. It is an issue for the individual 
to take care of and so to plan the life of the individual accordingly. The insurances, the 
saving up&acute;s, can be totally individual, or they can be connected to the work and the 
workplace, which then participate in paying the insurances. It is argued that 
individual insurance models fit to a more international life style with more mobility. 
Main themes: Individual choice and responsibility. Individual saving up to finance 
the individual welfare, encouraging the individual to take care of the life situation in 
all aspects. More individual options &ndash; and risks. Competition and also inequality as 
main driving forces in the society. Individuality &ndash; on your own. 
 
Most European countries execute their specific blend of these two approaches: How 
many social and individual events and situations are supposed to be covered by the 
well fare system, and to which degree it is financed by tax, or by the individual. This 
last issue has influence on the tax rate. The tax rate is a commonly discussed political 
issue. It decides how big a part of the individual earnings that will be administrated by 
thepublic sector, and in this way also decides how big and influential the size and 
importance of the public sector is. 
 
In the recent years the variations of the universal model with tax financing are under 
pressure, and the tendency goes towards more and more individual insurance and 
individual payment for goods and services. A liberal economy, and neo-liberal at the 
moment, tends towards an accumulation of capital at the rich, which on their side claim 
to be the engines of thes ociety and so beneficial for all, a so-called trickle-down economy. 
There are on going calculations and discussions on what is most beneficial: Relative high tax, 
free services, relative equality among people, a distribution of wealth, social stability and the 
opposite: Relative low tax, more individual insurances and payments, more inequality, maybe 
more instability. 
The questions dealt with are social, political and economical: Is the responsibility for 
the different circumstances in life related to the individual or to the society? Are 
individual solutions or common solutions preferable? Is the gap between rich and 
poor a natural process or a systemic consequence? 
 
Are common, solidary solutions to socio-economic issues to prefer for all and the 
society, or is it preferable for all that the individual deals with whatever 
circumstances on individual level?

Directive:

The aim and the product of the task are related both to the title, the introduction and 
the directives. 
 
Read the introduction and the related issues and make clear the overall aim. 
 
Relevant files are added. Use them as some to choose from. Some are long and is mainly 
for eventual inspiration. Use additional, or other, sources if you find it beneficial. 
The origin of additional sources must be noted for control. 
 
Product: 
1. Have a presentation with examples and your argued points of view about the issue 
for your team for comments. Introduce your arguments for the colleagues at work. 
 
2. Write a conclusion with your answers, arguments or questions including the listed issues. 
Title: The Title of the task. 
 
You will have to include the issues below in the product in your presentation: 
- What are the main discussion points regarding having a welfare stystem or having not? 
&nbsp; Politically, socially and economically? 
- What main kinds of welfare models are represented in Europe? 
&nbsp;&nbsp; What is a universal model respectively a residual model,(a selective model). 
&nbsp;&nbsp; What are the main differences? 
- What are the political implications if a welfare model is financed by 
&nbsp; 1) taxes or 2) financed through individual savings, insurances? 
&nbsp;&nbsp; How is the effect of redistribution of wealth in the different models? 
- Examples of different welfare model in various countries- the Nordic model, the 
&nbsp; Continental model. Examples of public spending in percentage of GDP. 
- What can be the benefits from a welfare system and a comprehensive public sector? 
&nbsp; What is a flexi-curity model? 
- What are the arguments for not having it? What is the alternative? 
- What kind of discussions goes on at the moment about welfare systems in Europe? 
- How does the future look for welfare systems in Europe? What changes are going on? 
- What is the public opinion, the attitude, towards a welfare system? 
 
Categories of the files 
F1 About the concept and terms 
F2 About supporting a welfare system or rejecting it 
F3 Examples of welfare systems, welfare models 
F4 Examples of issues taking care of in a welfare ystem 
F5 Staus and future of the welfare state, example 
&nbsp;

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