Political-Economic Stances on Social Security: Liberalism and Social Democracy
By merely glancing at political systems across the world, it is clear that politics and the economy are inextricably tied. Both are institutions that maintain a balance between freedom and equality, and both are associated with a variety of ideologies regarding what the best balance is (O’Neil 2013, 101 & 112). We often see how politics and economics influence each other, with economic regulation in policy, and a state’s economy reflecting how well the state can operate.
One important aspect of political economy, the study of how these institutions affect one another, is a state’s social expenditures (O’Neil 2013, 102 & 105). In the U.S., a controversial component …show more content…
While it is true that personal freedom and the right to private property is something that should be protected, I cannot argue that these rights are more important than the collective good. Not only that, but the argument that everyone is responsible for what they have, and that inequality is a matter of personal finance mismanagement, is dismissive and ignores the reality of the situation. An individual could be very skilled with handling their finances, but when the cost of living or inflation rises, their savings lose their value, no matter how diligent they were with setting their money aside. In addition to this, the lower and middle classes are the ones that mainly rely on Social Security, and if they have less income, they will spend less, and will not contribute to economic growth. Not only that, the idea at its core operates under the assumption that people must work in order to be able to survive, and this simply is not a possibility for everyone; as a result, there is the implication that certain lives are less valuable than others. Naturally, this targets those traditionally disadvantaged in society, such as the poor and women, and this is perpetuated primarily not necessarily by all liberals, but the wealthy, who do so under a liberal pretense (Krugman, 2010; 2015; Singletary, 2011). Simply put, “Rather than being a left-right split, this is a top-bottom …show more content…
It is not as if social democracy argues for the abolishment of all personal freedom; rather, it merely proposes a system where freedom can remain intact, but everyone has something at least to fall back on if it comes down to it. Government spending can be stretched thin at times, this is true, but in the case of Social Security, it pays for itself. It may be managed by the government, but it operates in a way very similar to a regular savings account, and there is nothing stopping someone from opening their own personal savings account (Çavdar, 2016). Including Social Security in the national budget has complicated matters, but it is evident that the program is not in the midst of a crisis that liberals may claim exists using contradictory logic (Krugman, 2010). Either way, I do not feel like asking for everyone to have at least bare means of survival is too demanding, nor does it encroach on anyone’s ability to do as they please. It may be true that under this ideology, inequality will not fully disappear, but as far as I see it, an attempt at evening the playing field in one way or another is just as good.
Conclusion
The main goal of this paper was to address the ideologies of liberalism and social democracy, and then discuss which ideology has the best position on the Social Security conflict. I addressed both ideologies and their stances on Social Security, arguing that liberals would be opposed to Social Security while
By merely glancing at political systems across the world, it is clear that politics and the economy are inextricably tied. Both are institutions that maintain a balance between freedom and equality, and both are associated with a variety of ideologies regarding what the best balance is (O’Neil 2013, 101 & 112). We often see how politics and economics influence each other, with economic regulation in policy, and a state’s economy reflecting how well the state can operate.
One important aspect of political economy, the study of how these institutions affect one another, is a state’s social expenditures (O’Neil 2013, 102 & 105). In the U.S., a controversial component …show more content…
While it is true that personal freedom and the right to private property is something that should be protected, I cannot argue that these rights are more important than the collective good. Not only that, but the argument that everyone is responsible for what they have, and that inequality is a matter of personal finance mismanagement, is dismissive and ignores the reality of the situation. An individual could be very skilled with handling their finances, but when the cost of living or inflation rises, their savings lose their value, no matter how diligent they were with setting their money aside. In addition to this, the lower and middle classes are the ones that mainly rely on Social Security, and if they have less income, they will spend less, and will not contribute to economic growth. Not only that, the idea at its core operates under the assumption that people must work in order to be able to survive, and this simply is not a possibility for everyone; as a result, there is the implication that certain lives are less valuable than others. Naturally, this targets those traditionally disadvantaged in society, such as the poor and women, and this is perpetuated primarily not necessarily by all liberals, but the wealthy, who do so under a liberal pretense (Krugman, 2010; 2015; Singletary, 2011). Simply put, “Rather than being a left-right split, this is a top-bottom …show more content…
It is not as if social democracy argues for the abolishment of all personal freedom; rather, it merely proposes a system where freedom can remain intact, but everyone has something at least to fall back on if it comes down to it. Government spending can be stretched thin at times, this is true, but in the case of Social Security, it pays for itself. It may be managed by the government, but it operates in a way very similar to a regular savings account, and there is nothing stopping someone from opening their own personal savings account (Çavdar, 2016). Including Social Security in the national budget has complicated matters, but it is evident that the program is not in the midst of a crisis that liberals may claim exists using contradictory logic (Krugman, 2010). Either way, I do not feel like asking for everyone to have at least bare means of survival is too demanding, nor does it encroach on anyone’s ability to do as they please. It may be true that under this ideology, inequality will not fully disappear, but as far as I see it, an attempt at evening the playing field in one way or another is just as good.
Conclusion
The main goal of this paper was to address the ideologies of liberalism and social democracy, and then discuss which ideology has the best position on the Social Security conflict. I addressed both ideologies and their stances on Social Security, arguing that liberals would be opposed to Social Security while