THEORETICALLY AND HISTORICALLY ABOUT SOCIAL POLICY

The article is an essay on the development of social policy in its ideological and practical dimensions. The considerations are carried out historically, starting with the modern era marked by the beginnings of industrialisation in England, where philosophical empiricism developed, and the first poverty regulations were created. The evolution of market economy was accompanied by the development of liberal philosophy with its ideas of freedom and equality and the foundations of socialist ideology and Marxism. In parallel, social policy was developing as a practice of state activity and dictatorial ones – with the ideology of fascism. After the Second World War, when nation states and economic interventionism developed under the influence of Keynesianism, the welfare state emerged. After about three decades, welfare states with its developed institutions slowly underwent restrictive modifications because of neoliberal trends in the development of economies racked by global crises.The article completes the description of the changes of the welfare state at the turn of the 20th and 21st century. They are driven by post-liberal tendencies, triggered on the one hand by the influence of international power in respecting human rights and other progressive equality ideas, and on the other hand by populist political tendencies using the welfare state to gain and maintain power. The text ends with a list of challenges and questions related contemporary social policy against threats, both global and specifically Polish.