Welfare State - VIII: The Manifesto for Welfare Government

Many scores ago, a great leader coined that basic truth that „one cannot fool all of the people all of the time“. We have not fooled anyone else; instead, we have fooled ourselves! We have allowed ourselves to think that we are entitled to benefits without recognizing that they must be paid for. We have begun to take for granted that we are entitled to the best education, the best jobs, the best incomes, the best social services, the shortest working life and the most comfortable pension benefits; and - all of this preferably at no special effort on our part. We have delegated the responsibility of caring for ourselves to the state and we called that state the Welfare State. And we have made ourselves dependent on a state that is no longer capable of caring for us in the manner that we lead ourselves to expect it.

We now make the call for Welfare Government. Our principal belief is that the greatest of all resources that we as a society have is our human capital. We will treasure this capital without restraints: we will eliminate barriers that may limit this capital in its growth and we will provide a framework where reasonable and fair competition of thought and performance on the part of individuals combined with solidarity among all can bring about positive results for all. In the process, we will be able to assure the lasting betterment of our entire society.  And: we will responsibly care for our human capital and protect it where and when it requires caring and protection.

Our conduct will be driven by the principles of fairness, responsible social behavior and solidarity. We live in a rapidly changing world and we need to continually adjust to the changes taking place around us. Not long ago, a great leader said that „history will punish those who are slow in responding to changes taking place in the world“. We do not wish to be punished! Tomorrow’s world will be different from today’s. We can no longer take things for granted that in the past we may have felt entitled to. However, we can take for granted the confidence that personal effort, the willingness to work and the preparedness to contribute will lead to the rewards that we all hope for. To assure that we can have that confidence will be the responsibility of the state, of Welfare Government!