Franz-Xaver Kaufmann

Folgen des demographischen Wandels und die Belastung der Familien durch die strukturellen Rücksichtslosigkeiten der gesellschaftlichen Verhältnisse sind lange vernachlässigte Herausforderungen, die im kommenden Jahrzehnt die politische Agenda in der Bundesrepublik mitbestimmen werden. Der Autor hat diese Themen als einer der ersten in die wissenschaftliche Diskussion gebracht. Seine hier erstmals im Zusammenhang veröffentlichten Analysen aus vier Jahrzehnten sind weiterführende Beiträge für ein vertieftes Verständnis der aktuellen Probleme – u.a. zum demographischen Altern, zum Strukturwandel von Ehe und Familie, zur Familienpolitik, zu den Generationenbeziehungen und zum Wohlfahrtsstaat.

Franz-Xaver Kaufmann: Zur Aktualitat von Gaudium et spes. Karl Kardinal Lehmann: Das Konzil und seine Wirkungsgeschichte. Franz-Josef Overbeck: Zum Pluralismus in Gesellschaft und Kirche Gaudium et spes, das Abschlussdokument des Zweiten Vatikanischen Konzils (1962-1965), bedeutet einen theologischen Quantensprung (Bischof Dr. Franz-Josef Overbeck). Es hat den fruheren Gegensatz von Kirche und Welt uberwunden: Die Welt ist Gottes gute Schopfung. Christinnen und Christen sollen sich nicht aus der Welt zuruckziehen, sondern sie mitgestalten. Diese neue Verhaltnisbestimmung hatte und hat weitreichende Auswirkungen auch auf das Selbstverstandnis und die Strukturen der Kirche. Der Lernprozess ist langst nicht abgeschlossen, scheint aber Erfrischung zu brauchen. Pointiert zeigt dieser Band den bleibenden Impuls des Konzils fur eine Erneuerung des kirchlichen Lebens in der heutigen Gesellschaft auf.

Franz-Xaver Kaufmann forscht seit über 40 Jahren zum Thema Sozialstaat und geht in diesem Band den Voraussetzungen dieser kulturellen Errungenschaft nach. Der institutionalisierte Konsens über die politische Verantwortung eines Gemeinwesens für die Grundlagen des Wohlergehens aller ihm Zugehörenden beruht auf normativen Voraussetzungen, die nur im Kontext von Christentum, Aufklärung und Staatstradition entstanden sind. Der Band behandelt die Entwicklung des sozialpolitischen Denkens, legitimierende Wertideen des Sozialstaats sowie einige mit diesen in Spannung stehende Positionen aus soziologischer Perspektive.

In the burgeoning literature on welfare regimes and typologies, this comparative study offers a stimulating new perspective. Kaufmann, the doyen of the sociology of social policy in Germany, emphasizes norms, culture and history, in contrast to political economy approaches. Comparing Britain, Sweden, France and Germany, Kaufmann highlights the „idiosyncrasy” of each welfare state: countries are compared with regard to their state traditions and the relationship between state and civil society; their national “social questions”; their economic systems, including the unions and labour law; social security and redistribution; and their personal social services and education. The socio-cultural approach enables Kaufmann to show that not all modern states are welfare states. Some are just „capitalism“ (the USA), others are „socialism“ (the former Soviet Union). In this light, the (essentially North-West European) welfare state is portrayed as a third way between capitalism and socialism.

The book traces the political history of the concept of social policy. „Social policy“ originated in Germany in the mid 19th century as a scholarly term that made a career in politics. The term became more prominent only after World War II. Kaufmann, the doyen of the sociology of social policy in Germany, argues that „social policy“ responds to the modern disjunction between “state” and “society” diagnosed by the German philosopher Hegel. Hegel’s disciple Lorenz von Stein saw social policy as a means to pacify the capitalist class conflict. After World War II, social policy expanded in an unprecedented way, changing its character in the process. Social policy turned from class politics into a policy for the whole population, with new concepts – like "social security", "redistribution" and "quality of life" - and new overarching formulas, "social market economy" and "social state" (the German version of “welfare state”). Both formulas have remained indeterminate and contested, indicating the inherent openness of the idea of the “social”.

While social welfare programs, often inspired by international organizations, are spreading throughout the world, the more far-reaching notion of governmental responsibility for the basic well-being of all members of a political society is not, although it remains a feature of Europe and the former British Commonwealth. The welfare state in the European sense is not simply an administrative arrangement of various measures of social protection but a political project embedded in distinct cultural traditions. Offering the first accessible account in English of the historical development of the European idea of the welfare state, this book reviews the intellectual foundations which underpinned the road towards the European welfare state, formulates some basic concepts for its understanding, and highlights the differences in the underlying structural and philosophical conditions between continental Europe and the English-speaking world.

In the burgeoning literature on welfare regimes and typologies, this comparative study offers a stimulating new perspective. Kaufmann, the doyen of the sociology of social policy in Germany, emphasizes norms, culture and history, in contrast to political economy approaches. Comparing Britain, Sweden, France and Germany, Kaufmann highlights the „idiosyncrasy” of each welfare state: countries are compared with regard to their state traditions and the relationship between state and civil society; their national “social questions”; their economic systems, including the unions and labour law; social security and redistribution; and their personal social services and education. The socio-cultural approach enables Kaufmann to show that not all modern states are welfare states. Some are just „capitalism“ (the USA), others are „socialism“ (the former Soviet Union). In this light, the (essentially North-West European) welfare state is portrayed as a third way between capitalism and socialism.

The book traces the political history of the concept of social policy. „Social policy“ originated in Germany in the mid 19th century as a scholarly term that made a career in politics. The term became more prominent only after World War II. Kaufmann, the doyen of the sociology of social policy in Germany, argues that „social policy“ responds to the modern disjunction between “state” and “society” diagnosed by the German philosopher Hegel. Hegel’s disciple Lorenz von Stein saw social policy as a means to pacify the capitalist class conflict. After World War II, social policy expanded in an unprecedented way, changing its character in the process. Social policy turned from class politics into a policy for the whole population, with new concepts – like "social security", "redistribution" and "quality of life" - and new overarching formulas, "social market economy" and "social state" (the German version of “welfare state”). Both formulas have remained indeterminate and contested, indicating the inherent openness of the idea of the “social”.

While social welfare programs, often inspired by international organizations, are spreading throughout the world, the more far-reaching notion of governmental responsibility for the basic well-being of all members of a political society is not, although it remains a feature of Europe and the former British Commonwealth. The welfare state in the European sense is not simply an administrative arrangement of various measures of social protection but a political project embedded in distinct cultural traditions. Offering the first accessible account in English of the historical development of the European idea of the welfare state, this book reviews the intellectual foundations which underpinned the road towards the European welfare state, formulates some basic concepts for its understanding, and highlights the differences in the underlying structural and philosophical conditions between continental Europe and the English-speaking world.

Dieses Buch entfaltet soziologische Grundlagen für eine Analyse von Sozialpolitik und Sozialstaatlichkeit. Der Autor hat diese Forschungsrichtung maßgeblich mit geprägt. Die hier zusammengefassten Arbeiten Franz-Xaver Kaufmanns entfalten im ersten Teil sein erstmals auf dem Bielefelder Soziologentag 1976 vorgetragenes Programm einer soziologischen Analyse von Sozialpolitik in wirkungsanalytischer und interorganisatorischer Perspektive. Der zweite Teil beschäftigt sich mit den Konsequenzen demographischer Entwicklungen für Sozialpolitik und Sozialstaat. Der dritte Teil enthält seine wichtigsten Beiträge zur jüngeren Sozialstaatsdiskussion und der damit verbundenen Steuerungsproblematik. Die 3. Auflage wurde um wichtige aktuelle Beiträge erweitert.