Social state: concept, classification and legal nature

Introduction: the article discusses the concept and legal nature of the welfare state. In his work, the author analyzes the history of the formation of the definition of "social state", correlating it with the concept of "welfare state", comprehending various conceptual directions of the determination of the social state, classifies various models of social statehood. In the article, the author criticizes the opinion that the paternalistic and welfare state should be distinguished, formulating a conclusion about the close connection of the two models. The author draws a number of conclusions that form the concept of the legal connection of the welfare state with such important principles as social solidarity and social equality. In addition, the author sees a direct connection of the concept of "social state" with the following definitions: social security, social policy, social tension, etc. The principle of social justice acts as a key category influencing the welfare state as a legal phenomenon, since it is this fundamental principle that serves as the goal for which public - governmental institutions carry out their activities in the field of social policy. Materials and Methods: The normative basis of the study is the Constitution of the Russian Federation, as well as other normative material affecting the problems of social security. The methodological tools of the research are dialectics, as well as methods of deduction and induction, legal comparativism, analysis and synthesis, as well as other methods of scientific cognition, the use of which makes it possible to comprehend the problems of legal regulation of social relations affecting the welfare state as a real phenomenon of legal existence. The Results of the Study: they make it possible to see a multifaceted structure in a social state, which on the one hand is a model of the state, and on the other hand is embodied in the image of an idea reflecting the general directions of social security policy and the structure of social relations, where citizens, society and the state figure as subjects. Findings and Conclusions: the main purpose of the existence of a social state, which is to ensure the implementation of the principle of social justice, is revealed.