in Esperanto
Chapter 5: SKETCH OF COMMUNIST SOCIETY -- WELFARE
2. Pensions and public assistance will no longer be necessary.
2.1. Irrationality of the pension system
The fluctuations in the public old-age pension system (hereafter simply referred to as the pension system), which can be said to be the pillar of welfare state policy, will affect the post-retirement age of almost all citizens, with the exception of a few wealthy people who have sufficient retirement savings. This is one of the most serious fluctuations in the welfare state.
However, it is inevitable that the pension system, which was originally a product of an era when the aging rate was not as high as it is today and the average life expectancy was within a reasonable limit, will fluctuate in an era of declining birthrate, aging population, and longevity. So any promises by the government that pensions will continue into the future sound hollow. It is almost taboo to doubt the rationality of the pension system, but it is true that this system cannot be said to be unconditionally rational.
In the first place, it is too formal a system to forcibly retire or unemploy workers at a certain age and drive them into pension life. There are people who are in their 60s and are still in good health and are motivated to work, and there is no problem even if there are "old and newcomers" who are over 60 and want to try new jobs.
However, under capitalism, old workers are considered to lack usefulness as a labor force. There are two ways to force older workers to retire: applying a uniform retirement age system and dismissing them individually. In any case, there is no change in the desire of capital companies to eliminate the declining productivity of the elderly labor force, which is not worth exploiting.
2.2. Communist retirement life
In contrast, life after retirement in a communist society is simple and free. Compulsory retirement based solely on age, including the mandatory retirement system, is legally prohibited as unfair employment discrimination based on age, so workers can continue to work until their desired age. (As shown in Chapter 3, it is possible that in the early days of communism, the core working generation would be forced to work).
If you feel like retiring because of old age, all you have to do is leave quietly. As is already understood, in a communist society, the money economy has been abolished and all necessary goods and services can be obtained free of charge, so there is no anxiety about life associated with retirement. If long-term care becomes necessary, as we will see in the next section, comprehensive care can be received free of charge, and if it becomes severe, long-term medical care can also be received free of charge.
Conversely, you are free to retire early. In that respect, the capitalist social security system tends to concentrate on old people who have become obsolete as wage serfs. Early retirement is therefore a pipe dream for anyone but the ultra-rich, and young or middle-aged retirees will have to rely on unemployment insurance and welfare services.
In a communist society, the situation is completely different. Since people can live without money, there is no need for a poverty relief system such as public assistance, nor a temporary social security system such as unemployment insurance. In extreme terms, both the old and the young can be unemployed with peace of mind.
A properly constructed and run communist society is free from poverty. A communist society, in which labor and consumption are completely separated, is a fundamentally welfare society, and does not even dare to set itself up on a grand scale about the enhancement of welfare.
2.3. Social Work Council
As mentioned above, although a communist society does not need a special anti-poverty system of social security that provides monetary benefits, as symbolized by pensions and public assistance, there is a system of non-monetary social services such as nursing care in a communist society. Rather, in a communist society where the money economy is abolished, such non-monetary social services will occupy the center.
Communist social services are not based on the application principle of waiting for applications from recipients. The application benefit principle is one of the measures to control the receipt of benefits in response to the capitalist limit of financial resources. The communist social service adopts the principle of planned benefits, even if the recipient does not apply for it, unless the recipient declines based on a rational reason.
In order to make this possible, the Social Work Council (hereinafter simply referred to as the "council") will be established as a public institution in charge of regional social service plans for each section of the commune. The council does not directly provide social services itself, but comprehensively organizes all social services within its own section.
Specifically, the task of the council is to keep track of the situation of potential recipients of social services in the section and draw up social work plans that are updated annually for coordinating so that those who need it can receive the services when they need them. Therefore, the chairperson of the council must be a duly qualified social worker, and the council members are delegated part-time to welfare and medical professionals and welfare service representatives within the section.
Multiple social workers are assigned to the council, and in addition to receiving consultations from those who need it, they also discover those who need it based on information from volunteer cooperators and develop activities that lead to the arrangement of necessary services. By the way, regarding child welfare, the Minor Welfare Center is established separately from the council, but the council sometimes cooperates with the center to protect families with children.
