The idea of a welfare state in the aspect of state-legal monism and pluralism
Authors: Biryukov S. V. , Evstratov A. E. 
Published: October 2023

The problem of implementing the idea of a social state is considered from the point of view of state-legal monism and pluralism at the level of humanity, that is the possibility of the emergence of a universally recognized model of such a state or the inevitability of the coexistence of various such models due to national, economic, cultural factors operating in specific countries.

Attention is drawn to the fact that such a problem is also relevant in relation to the ideas of a democratic and rule-of-law state. In general, the coincidence of formal characteristics of states reflected in modern constitutions is accompanied by statements about the absence of unified concepts of democracy and human rights. To an even greater extent, this is characteristic of the search for a solution to the so-called social issue. The theses underlying the concept of the welfare state by L. von Stein are presented. In particular, it is indicated that, in his opinion, the simple development of the social security system of the poor class is not enough to solve the “social issue”. The further development of the idea of a social state is shown, discussions are touched upon regarding the understanding of its essence and the problems that were revealed during the social reforms carried out by socio-democratic and liberal forces in capitalist states at the end of the 19th and 20th century.

The main approaches to the constitutionalization of the social state are revealed (the “simple” proclamation of “social” statehood in the constitution; the clear formation of the goals and objectives of such a state; the absence of an indication of the social nature of the state). The classifications of the welfare state carried out by G. Esping-Andersen, as well as modern researchers of Russia and neighboring countries are analyzed. It is established that the very existence of a “social issue” and the importance of one or another of its solutions are gradually becoming generally recognized. Despite this, the fixation of the social character of the state has not yet received the same universal distribution as, for example, theses about the democratic and legal nature of the state. Both the implementation of the idea of a welfare state where it is legally recognized, and its declared “projects” are very diverse, while the typology of the welfare state is subject to further study. The social model, the framework of which determines the position of the state in relation to society, is, on the one hand, the result of the evolution of a complex of factors specific to each country, and on the other, the result of a conscious choice. Different models of the welfare state are characterized by different degrees of realization of the interests of different social classes, a different relationship between the beginnings of society and the state. Accordingly, these models are “attractive” to representatives of the haves and have-nots to varying degrees, they compete with each other at the international level. It is concluded that the idea of a social state can be reduced to a certain unity, whereas the ways of its implementation are inevitably multiple.