Abstract
In the previous chapters much has been said about the performance of social security systems. In this contribution, we will present a normative approach to this performance. Social security should be considered a mechanism for society to care for those who are in need. In this sense, social security is not only a matter of structures, interests and calculations but it also is an ethical issue, reflecting both the self-interest of the well-to-do and the ethical obligation of the young, the healthy, the employed, and the well-to-do vis-à-vis the old, the sick, the unemployed, and the poor. We will reflect on this ethical dimension by using the concept of solidarity. In this paragraph, we will make some general remarks on solidarity. In paragraph 2, we will focus on the relationship between solidarity and social security. Next, we will focus on a few of the consequences which the development of social security systems in Europe seems to have on solidarity (paragraph 3). After an excursion into the social teaching of the churches (paragraph 4), we will draw some conclusions (paragraph 5).
The authors wish to thank Dr. Jan Peet for his contributions to this chapter.
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References
Cf. Brockhaus Enzyklopaedie in vierundzwanzig Bänden, FA. Brockhaus, Mannheim 1993, 19th edition, keyword Solidarität.
Cf. the French pacte civil de solidanté [Civil solidarity pact], in: Loi no. 99–944 du 15 novembre 1999 relative au pacte civil de solidarité.
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Ibidem, p. 33.
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Tinga, K., Verbraak, E. (2000). Solidarity: An indispensable concept in social security1 . In: van Vugt, J.P.A., et al. Social Security and Solidarity in the European Union. Contributions to Economics. Physica, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-57676-8_13
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