Under the Ancien Régime, salaries were not enough to live on. Many people had to combine activities to make ends meet. Laurence Fontaine paints a vivid picture of this reality.
Since the 1980s, patient accompaniment has been considered a form of care in its own right. Yet, the “ethic of care,” now a key notion in philosophy, is also part of the solidarity pact that governs the welfare state in France.
The non take-up of social benefits is becoming increasingly widespread as a phenomenon, and is now a central concept within public policy analysis. Philippe Warin examines the diverse reasons for why people fail to claim the benefits they are entitled to, which range from a simple lack of awareness and entitlement to more complex issues of indifference towards and even rejection of the social security system.
Jean-Claude Barbier presents us with a way of looking at the construction of Europe, concentrating on Europe’s social regime, which he reminds us is not really on a par with its economic regime. His recent book on this subject, now available in English, is a methodological reflection on comparison and on the role of cultures.
In Made in America, sociologist Claude S. Fischer develops the idea that voluntarism, not individualism, is the key feature to describe social ties in America and that this notion of voluntarism best helps us understand what makes America exceptional among other Western societies.
The history of Emmaüs, a major movement against homelessness made famous by its charismatic leader, Abbot Pierre, is representative of postwar voluntary solidarity associations in France. By describing the stages of its development, Axelle Brodiez-Dolino proposes a typology of conflicts in the voluntary organizations sector.
Three researchers react against the perspective for European countries of drastic austerity and emphasize the need, central to the Lisbon Agenda, for social investment. Investing in the skills of individuals from their early age, in adapting and securing changing professional trajectories and reconciling professional and family life is crucial for the renewal of solidarity in Europe.
Liberty, equality, or fraternity between the generations — how should we think about “fair” transfers from one generation to the next? In a meticulous and bold essay, André Masson demonstrates that the French republican motto can be used as a key to the different theories that attempt to explain the ties between generations. He views his position as “upstream” of current debates about the emergence of and need for a reformulation of our public policies concerning intergenerational ties.
For the Dutch, the French social model seems particularly generous. However, no real comparison is possible if the facts are taken out of context. The understanding of the Dutch proverb ‘To live like God in France’ changes somewhat when we consider Antoine Bevort’s investigation of the differences between social relations in France and in the Netherlands.
