Hyvinvointivaltio kamppailukäsitteenä

Authors

• Pauli Kettunen University of Helsinki

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37456/tvt.156469

Keywords:

hyvinvointivaltio [http://www.yso.fi/onto/yso/p6930], yhteiskunta [http://www.yso.fi/onto/yso/p9778], sosiaalipolitiikka [http://www.yso.fi/onto/yso/p2672], käsitehistoria [http://www.yso.fi/onto/yso/p21757]

Abstract

The concept of the welfare state became very popular after the end of the construction period of the welfare state. Today, almost all parties and interest groups declare themselves rescuers of the welfare state. This is also the case for those who advocate cuts in social security and the weakening of the collective agreement system in working life. The article examines the adoption of the concept of the welfare state, the conflicts surrounding its uses, references and valuations, and its rise to its current popularity. The material, which is mainly in digitized form, consists of press articles, party and government programs, party meeting minutes, parliamentary documents, and contemporary literature.

Conceptual historical examination questions the image of building a welfare state as a joint national project guided by this concept. The concepts of welfare state and welfare society, often used synonymously, gained popularity in the 1990s. Due to their ambiguities and potential to conceal conflicts, the concepts supported the national consensus. In it, the welfare state and the centralized system of labour market agreements were reconciled with national competitiveness. However, even before the formation of the right-wing government in 2023, business representatives expressed their unwillingness to commit to such a consensus. The change in direction implemented by the right-wing government is justified by a claim to rescue the welfare state. This indicates that welfare state practices are known to be important to ordinary people, but the conflicts over what is rescued and how undermine the consensual power of the concept of the welfare state.