Welfare state: where it went yesterday, and what to do tomorrow

Social state as a mechanism for ensuring a decent level and quality of life for population has always been in the focus of scientific interests of N. M. Rimashevskaya. In memory of the famous scientist, the article presents an analysis of what happened to the social state in Russia in the past three decades, and argues the need to overcome the existing negative trends leading to its dismantling. Conclusions and recommendations are based on a study of the history of the formation of various models of welfare state, the operation of its economic mechanism, modern challenges to welfare state, as well as analysis of the Russian legislation, budget statistics, and results of sociological studies on the impact of reforms in the social sphere on the level and quality of life of Russians. It is shown that in the formation of a welfare state in the post-Soviet Russia, three stages can be distinguished, differing in the economic capabilities of the state and imperious rhetoric, but united by neoliberal ideology manifested in the desire to reduce social spending and commercialize the social sphere. The reduction of social obligations of the state forces citizens to independently decide on the issues of acquiring housing, medical treatment, and material support for old age. In conditions of low incomes, this pushes people to the financial market, in the development of which the state is interested, that fully fits into the mainstream of financialized capitalism and neoliberal ideology. The far from pleasing socio-demographic and economic indicators demonstrated by Russia against this background show the need for a turn towards the true development of a welfare state, and the events of early 2022 set this task with the utmost urgency. The article outlines the key components of the proposed pivot, related to rejection of the neoliberal dogmas about the negative impact on economic growth of large-scale social spending and income redistribution policies based on progressive income taxation, about selective social policy as an allegedly effective tool to combat poverty, etc.