A Study On The Origin Of Social Insurance Legislation In Germany

Germany is the home of modern social security system.On the advice of the Otto von Bismarck,Kaiser William I promulgated the “Kaiserliche Botschaft” in 1881,which decided to improve the welfare of the workers with a positive means,started a massive social legislative activities,promulgated the “Medical Insurance Law”(1883),“Accident Insurance Law”(1884)and the “Disability and Old-Age Insurance Law”(1889).Germany became the first country to establish a social insurance system.After one hundred years of development,Germany has the world's most comprehensive social security legislation system and the highest degree of codification.German social security system has formed with social insurance as the core,social facilitation,social compensation and social assistance system as complement.The “German model” is totally different from British and Scandinavian model.The basic principles and its legal framework originate from the three social insurance legislations at the end of the 19 th century.The three social insurance legislations in the German Empire were not only the result of the personal wisdom of a legislator,but from profound historical origins and theoretical accumulation.In the 19 th century,when the industrialization in Germany began,its social problems were mainly the poor(peasant problems).The main solution to the social problems was poor relief and mutual insurance funds within the special industries such as miners and seafarers.Industrialization brought new social problems,mainly for the workers,the original solution has been unable to meet the requirements of society,requiring the state to take the responsibility of welfare.By analyzing the process of social transformation,we can understand the corresponding changes in social policy,and then understand why in Germany first established a modern social insurance system,why social insurance can become a solution to the social questions at the time.The first chapter discusses the major social problems and solutions before industrialization.In the Middle Ages and early modern times,the German nation-state had not yet been established.The social problems were mainly the problem of the poor.Anti-poverty was the main content of the social policy.The relevant provisions were embodied in the police law.In order to pursue the good order of the state for the purpose of the police law,the purpose of security gave priority to welfare purposes in the dual purposes of police law.Therefore,the expulsion of beggars,force labor agencies characterized by modern poverty law reflects a strong social discipline characteristic.At the same time,with the development of the industrialization process,in the high risk of special industries,the formation of workers volunteer to initiate mutual insurance to combat disease,accidents and other risks.However,voluntary funds because of small size are very fragile,often due to lack of payment faced crisis.The second chapter discusses the new social problems brought about by industrialization and urbanization in the 19 th century,and the relevant social theory.Urbanization and industrialization have brought about the growth and movements of workers.The separation of the workplace and the family has weakened the protection of the family.The living conditions of the living class in the city are very poor,and the workers' movements were endless,the stability of the newly unified German empire was threated.In this social context,scholars who are represented by Lorenz von Stein and the new historical school began to explore new social theories whose core are to emphasize that the state should take the dominant responsibility in solving social problems.The third chapter mainly presents the details of the three social insurance legislation under the leadership of Bismarck in the 1880 s,focuses on the main contention in the legislative process,and analyzes the main aspects of the three major social insurance legislation from insurance institutions,payment,employer responsibility and dispute resolution,focusing on the diversity of insurance institutions in medical insurance legislation,the twists and turns of accident insurance legislation process and the dispute of imperial allowance in disability and old-age insurance.Chapter 4 focuses on the evaluation of Bismarck's social insurance legislation.Bismarck's social insurance legislations,although not fulfilling its political purpose against the Social Democratic Party,were relatively crude,but in fact improved the living conditions of the working class.Thanks to the social insurance legislations,the level of medical and health care has been continuously improved,and the average life expectancy has been greatly extended.The basic guarantee provided for the broad population has profoundly changed the social structure.In addition,there are three main contributions of social insurance legislations.First,the mode of social solidarity turned from "internalization" to "externalization".Social insurance law through the individual,the employer's contribution and state subsidies(reflected in the old-age insurance),the employer,the country to join the main body of social solidarity,and through the payment of the proportion of responsibility and scope,thus expanding the scope of risk sharing.Second,it reflects the changes of state responsibility.Social insurance legislations embody the state's legislative responsibilities,fiscal responsibilities and supervision and management responsibilities,which lays the foundation for the development of the rule of law.Finally,the basic principles of the German social insurance law,in particular the principle of insurance obligations and self-management,were established.These two principles are the products of compromise between different political factions,which have continued to the present and become the main feature of the German social insurance system.