Social Change and Social Security in Germany

Social security systems reflect and affect the social and political environment in which they operate. The early German system, although influenced by paternalistic traditions, was above all politically motivated. Its organization and administration were shaped by the desire to placate the increasingly alienated industrial workers and strengthen the prevailing power structure. Today both the means and the end are different. The welfare of the individual rather than that of the state has become the prime objective. Under present conditions, this requires not merely protection against abject poverty-a level of protection which was thought adequate in the late nineteenth century-but the preservation of the standard of living a particular citizen achieved through a lifetime of work. To achieve this objective, Germany has found it necessary to link systematically the growth of social insurance benefits to the growth of national income.