Balancing work and solidarity in the western democracies

"The capitalist democracies of western Europe and the U.S. have developed extensive social programs, based on the principle of solidarity, that provide assistance to the destitute, the unemployed, the sick, the disabled, and the elderly. Due in part to growing levels of spending on these solidarity programs that may threaten financial solvency in some of these countries and in part to a growing belief that social programs should help people work and achieve self-sufficiency, these countries have implemented 'work activation' policies that try to encourage, entice, and cajole physically-able pe... Mehr ...