Old Hegel had it pretty spot on in his Philosophy of Right when he argued that poverty, which he saw as the natural consequence of the market, was the greatest threat to a sense of social cohesion in modern society. He was troubled by the question of how economic security could be secured to individuals within a society whose economic and politics was marked by a strong conception of individualism, and by a strong sense that individuals should be as independent as possible.
I had always been impressed by this section of the Philosophy of Right and felt that it had undercut the conservative reading of Hegel.
Hegel's connections between citizenship, economic security and social integration are very much with us today because of the long-term unemployment arsing from setting a modern open market economy within a competitive global market.
The neo-liberal/conservative approach of work-for-the-dole has a tacit conception of citizenship; one based on obligation, virtue and contribution. This holds that individuals, do not, and cannot, have a right to the resources of liberal society unless they contribute to the development of society through work. Citizenship has to be earned and not seen as an unconditional right. Hence the insurance based approach as a point of difference to state assistance. It is insurance and contribution to the labour market that creates rights.
This obligation-based view of citizenship gives us a conception of the welfare state as working within the market economy in terms of improving social and human capital and not as some sort of corrective to the market as held by traditional social democrats.
These ideas of reciprociity and contribution have been used to devise a strong program of reform of welfare. We are familar with them:
dependency, whereby recepients of benefits are cut off from sociability, the labour market and the growth of knowledge and skills;
moral hazard or the acquistion of habits of mind and character that lead into poverty and dependency;
free riding by choosing to live a life on benefits paid for out of the general tax bills of citizens;
taxes should not be raised to pay the non-contributory benefits to those who are not responsible for their social obligations.
These considerations lead to the [enabling?] state placing an emphasis on the development of human and social capital (employability skills) to make the unemployed more effective in the labour market. This implies an emphasis on equality of opportunity (not outcomes) and the social capital of local communities giving the unemployed opportunities in the job market. Hence the policy focus on being active looking for a job, or doing community work.
The inference is that it is discharging general obligations (work) to society that secures the rights of citizenship. Work is the key to the ending of social exclusion and to citizenship.
Posted by Gary Sauer-Thompson at December 1, 2003 10:39 PM | TrackBack