Welfare capitalism

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The welfare capitalism is an economic concept from the United States , in particular, the end of the 19th century. / Early 20th century. Much has been discussed. In the core content, economically strong companies should independently contribute to reducing social inequalities. The company's commitment extends to charity for its employees on the one hand, but also to measures to make the employees' human capital comprehensively available for the production process on the other .

origin

The concept of welfare capitalism comes from the industrialization of the USA around 1880 and is seen as one of the main causes for the emergence of NPOs in the USA . In particular, the experience of the emergence of the USSR and the problems with the so-called social question in Europe has accelerated the search for alternative concepts: From the point of view of the entrepreneurs, the voluntary establishment of a welfare system for their employees was a simple means to counteract threatened social legislation through voluntary resolution Preventing problems and ultimately being able to retain more decision-making powers.

advantages

From the entrepreneur's point of view, employees are more motivated and productive through better involvement in the production process and identify more strongly with the company even in the case of unpleasant company decisions. From the employee's point of view, the work is more varied and interesting, and the employer also provides important social benefits.

criticism

  • The entrepreneur's intentions are not humanitarian, but rather the exploitation of untapped potential of his employees.
  • Social security is therefore only aimed at people who can already generate an income. Unemployed or disabled people (unemployed, housewives, disabled people, etc.), on the other hand, have no access to social benefits.
  • The social programs create sharp relationships of dependency between employer and employee, which are based heavily on the arbitrary goodwill of the employer.
  • Access to social services and programs is heavily dependent on the economic situation and strength of the respective company. Stronger companies can provide more generous benefits than smaller and weaker companies, so social compensation remains limited. Likewise, an effect of the automatic stabilization in the case of economic fluctuations would largely be absent, since the willingness and ability of companies to make welfare expenditures would decrease significantly in economically difficult circumstances.

See also