The policy of rationalization of social obligations in relation to the elderly

Abstract

The article presents the changes of priorities in social policy caused by the processes of of the population. Since the 1990s many states are reconsidering their social obligation, which is followed by sharp discussions around a question on expansion of paid social services. In each country the social service changes are based on their own historical and cultural traditions, which resulted in different value systems: rise of communitarian ideologies (community development) in contrast with the state paternalism or/and rational exchange relations of insurance. The author discusses possible changes in the Russian system of social protection of elderly.