Kann der Sozialstaat gerettet werden?

Referring to publications of his own from previous years on the crisis and reform of the German "Sozialstaat" (welfare state) the author deals with the question, whether and how the welfare state can be preserved. He critically describes the discussion on the crisis of the welfare state since 1975. He shows that the renaissance of classical economics and of classical economic liberalism undermines the idea of the welfare state, while the impact of globalization hurts the material economic basis of the German welfare state. He explains which pre-conditions should be fulfilled and which kinds of reforms should be realized to preserve the essentials of a welfare state. The author pleads not to accept the North-American social philosophy, to liberate the social regulations from excesses and inefficiencies and to pursue an economic policy, which secures the economic basis for social policy.