Understanding the Evolution of Welfare States and Political Organization
1 – The State of Welfare: Surge from 1930-1945 and the 1945-1970 Peak in Crisis Began in 1970 to Present. The first experiments of this type occurred in the U.S. and Scandinavian countries in response to the crisis of 1930. After World War II in 1945, similar measures were adopted in almost all developed and underdeveloped countries. The state imposes changes without removing freedoms and democratic institutions, pursuing basic purposes:
A. Ensure the Continuity of Capitalist Principles: (Recognizes the right to private property) accomplished through active intervention in the economy by redistributing income and promoting employment.
B. Promote the Welfare of All Members of Society: Beyond their social status as a right, not a benefit. This includes laws that protect workers and provide certain basic goods and services.
C. Conclusion: The welfare state began its first experiences in the U.S. and Scandinavian countries in response to the crisis of 1930, and by 1945, similar measures were adopted worldwide, guaranteeing the continuity and stability of capital while promoting basic welfare for all members of the population beyond their status as a right, not a benefit.
2 – How to Stabilize the Imbalance from the International Division of Labor? Increasing the closure of domestic markets to foreign products and accelerating the industrialization process intended to replace imported manufactures. This term leads to low production rates, high unemployment, and inflation, which distributes a crisis.
3 – Neo-Liberalism: Consists of a return to state regulatory authority, the abandonment of new tasks of the state, and ensuring that the size of the state is consistent with tax resources.
4 – Adjustment Policies: Include privatization of public enterprises and services, cuts in social spending, administrative decentralization, and labor flexibility. This results in a self-regulated market and deregulation of the economy.
5 – The State’s Theory of Political Organization: Institutional status has a different history of political reforms – institutional (different ways to deliver authority). For example, with the quality of King states, a political and institutional organization is adopted in which there is a separation of powers. Power is not exercised by a single authority but is distributed among several agencies: the executive, legislative, and judicial.
A. Legislature: Responsible for laying down the law, setting taxes and tariffs, deciding the expenditure budget, and regulating internal commerce and navigation of rivers and seas of the country. The legislature appoints judges, ambassadors, and other officials, approves peace treaties, boundaries, cooperation and trade with other nations, and declares war. It has several names: Parliament, Congress, courts, or assemblies. It is composed of representatives elected directly by the people and may be questioned by one or two chambers.
B. Judiciary: Responsible for the administration of justice, reinforcing the legality and legitimacy of the state to build credibility and legal certainty. It checks the consistency of the laws pertaining to the Basic Law and can declare laws invalid. Objectivity, independence, and immobility are guaranteed for judges as long as they serve.
C. Executive: Responsible for executing and enforcing laws, representing the nation among other states, commanding the armed forces, passing laws, appointing officials, carrying out sentences, and granting pardons. In some countries, the head of government is different from the head of state; in our country, both offices are held by the president.
6 – The State and Its Form of Political Organization – Territorial: Each state sets its form of political organization – territorial, which is a system of relations involving its population, territory, and sovereignty. This is related to the cultural and religious diversity and social history of the country, taking into account geographic, demographic, cultural, and political factors.
7 – Three Types of Political Statements:
A. Unitary: When all power is exercised by a single national government, all other authorities and officials are subordinate to it. Only citizens vote for the government and representatives at the national level, and these are the ones who appoint delegates and officials of lower rank. There is only one type of state of national law; lower government units (called departments or provinces) always lead to the central government. Examples include France, Italy, and Greece in Europe, and Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay in America.
B. Federal: State power is divided between the National Government and Provincial governments. The existence and authority of these governments are granted by a written constitution, specifying that certain divisions of power cannot be changed unilaterally. This guarantees unity and regional diversity within a single state. Thus, in federal states, decision-making is not concentrated but distributed among several centers of power, none of which is legally or politically subordinate to the other. They elect their own authorities, dictate their laws and constitutions, and act independently.
C. Confederate: A union of independent sovereign states sharing governmental institutions or interests. There is no written constitution but treaties; the government is exercised by representatives from each state. Important decisions cannot be made without the unanimous consent of members, and each state has its own armed forces, with laws that can be vetoed or not accepted.