WELFARE: CONCEPT, EXAMPLES IN MEXICO, COLOMBIA, SPAIN - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The welfarism refers to the set of measures taken by States to assist their citizens or foreigners residing permanently seeking to guarantee a decent life if they fail to do so on their own.

The way to assist them is to provide financial assistance, housing or food, among other resources. They are programs that are financially supported by the public funds of each nation or with the help of private companies.

Welfare is actions taken by the State to provide protection, help and relief to the underprivileged. Source: Pixabay

For many theorists, welfare is a palliative that has negative incentives, since it tends to promote dependency and can inhibit creativity and initiative. In other words, curtail the efforts that those affected themselves may have to increase their income and improve their conditions.

These theorists start from the idea that the eradication of poverty is a long-term effort in which the generating and reproductive causes must be combated, as well as allowing those most in need to actively participate in their improvement of life.

Differences between welfare, philanthropy and charity

Sometimes the terms welfare, philanthropy and charity are considered synonymous or confusing, so it is important to differentiate how they help and to whom.

Welfare consists of the set of actions in favor of the most disadvantaged taken by a person, group or, in this specific case, the State. The purpose is to provide protection, help and relief.

Philanthropy is a term that refers to the selfless help of others as an act of love for all humanity. The motivation for philanthropy is limited to the human sphere.

Charity is also selfless help, but seeks to solve a problem immediately. The motivation of charity is circumscribed to the religious, to the love of God, for this reason it is considered a theological virtue.

Concept

Welfare can be conceived as the series of actions carried out by state institutions to provide assistance to individuals or citizens who are in vulnerable or disadvantaged conditions, either permanently or temporarily.

A concept that is considered opposite to that of welfare is that of empowerment. Understanding this as empowering individuals and the ability to transform themselves in the environment where they operate.

There are two possible views of welfare. In the first version, it is not seen as a goal in itself, but rather as a strategy that allows populations in need to receive limited assistance actions with the aim of making them become autonomous, self-sufficient and responsible subjects for themselves. All this throughout the process and with your active participation.

In the second version, the welfare policies do not pretend to achieve a social integration of the beneficiary population, since it becomes a political group dependent on the state public entity and ends up being a captive of the government networks and the power of the day. This latest version has a direct link to clientelism.

Some theorists like Melva Lucía Riaño propose the need to differentiate welfare from decent care. The first has its origin in public charity and the people who receive help are conceived as beneficiaries and dependents.

In the case of dignified assistance, people and citizens have equal rights, so it is not intended to generate dependency, nor do they pose in an inferior position or socially disadvantaged.

Characteristic phenomena

Scholars on the subject such as Froilán Casas Ortiz, consider that welfare is characterized by being accompanied and promoting other phenomena.

The first is that it usually encourages the caudillismo of the rulers, since they end up being considered leaders to whom they worship, also positioning themselves as essential. It also gives rise to populism, where there is a tendency to pose a dichotomous, anti-elitist reality, in which the emotional approach is superimposed on the rational one and social mobilization is sought.

Casas Ortiz continues to indicate that there is a loss of critical sense and a vicious circle where welfare promotes more dependency and poverty, as well as these in turn promote the need for welfare policies. As a consequence, all this entails what he calls a party dictatorship, since the government of the day ceases to be so and remains in power.

Examples

Many analysts agree that welfare does not eradicate poverty. Source: Pixabay

Governments can offer assistance to the most needy population group through the provision of certain services such as housing, employment, soup kitchens, health care.

Another form of welfare is through the direct allocation of money, that is, the State grants a regular basic income to all its citizens as part of its social security system.

This sum is in addition to any other income that citizens may be receiving from other sources.

Situation in Mexico, Colombia, Spain

One of the countries in which assistance practices have been implemented for more than 10 years is Mexico. According to data from the 2008 National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (Coneval), in 2018 poverty was only reduced by 2.5 percentage points.

However, resources for these types of programs have increased by more than 86% during the same period. For this reason, Mexican analysts consider welfare policies as an insufficient strategy to eradicate poverty.

In the case of Spain, the trend is to extend social services beyond those most in need and turn them into rights for all citizens. The idea is that they be universal and public in these times of constant change, in which any citizen can present a period of specific vulnerability and therefore need some assistance program.

Colombia is another of the countries that has implemented welfare policies, especially in the context of the armed conflict that occurred with the paramilitary groups.

Some analysts consider that the aid provided to the victims of internal displacement has kept them as victims without making them subjects capable of leading a process of their own transformation. They consider that instead of achieving their social reintegration, they have been kept tied to government subsidies and international aid, perpetuating the handicap of the displaced.

Other countries where a variety of welfare programs have been implemented have been in Venezuela, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru and Chile, all under a socialist ideological spectrum and with an evident tendency to clientelism.

References

1. Ortiz, FC (2014, December 16). What generates welfare? Recovered from com.co
2. (2019, July 12). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Recovered from es.wikipedia.org
3. com (2019). Welfare concept. Recovered from deconceptos.com
4. Menjívar Larín R., Krujit, D. and Van Vucht Tijssen, L. (1997) Poverty, exclusion and social policy. Costa Rica: Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences of Ultrecht University.
5. Quintero, L. (2019, August 14). Welfare fails: resources for social programs grow 90% but poverty does not yield. Recovered from economiahoy.mx
6. Pacheco Martínez, J. (2017, November 6). From displacement to state welfare. Recovered from lacoladerata.co/conlupa