State Welfare Provisions in the Ancient World

Abstract

Sergey A. Davydov - Dr. Sci. (Sociology), Associate Professor, Professor, Department of Sociology and Psychology, St. Petersburg State Economic University, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. Email: licurg@inbox.ru

DOI: 10.17323/727-0634-2017-15-4-643-650

Currently, the conceptualization of social policy is far from complete. A common assumption among expert opinion is that social policy is a phenomenon purely of modern, industrial society. Empirical evidence, however, offers strong refutation of this contention. Many states of the Ancient world implemented policies aimed at providing an acceptable level of well-being, social protection and social solidarity. Our analysis shows that these policies were far from accidental. On the contrary, they were regular, incorporated into existing formal institutions and imbued with strong cultural legitimacy. Of course, these ancient states were not 'welfare states' in the strictest sense of the term. It can be argued, however, that the institutional practices of social policy began long before the onset of the industrial age. Systematic regulation of the social sphere can be found in the royal right of early states and in the laws of ancient empires. Obviously, the formation of social solidarity mechanisms allowed elites to interpret the processes taking place in society more easily, to form the necessary representations, interests and models of action and, consequently, to assert power over their subjects. And this gives us grounds to conclude that, even at the earliest stages of human civilization, the fulfillment of social obligations to the population was a key characteristic of the state as a social institution.