Fabrizio Sciacca, «Social Rights and Social Policy. Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives», Rubbettino, Soveria Mannelli 2016

Abstract

The recent collection of essays edited by Fabrizio Sciacca, Social Rights and Social Policy. Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives, discusses a topic that is currently at the centre of public debate – the structural crisis of the welfare state – according to a dual perspective of theoretical and empirical analysis which is where the innovative value of the work lies. The authors’ methodical approach highlights a common need to rethink the welfare structure and the reasons for the crisis that has afflicted the European social model for several decades in a perspective that is both critical and political. This need arises for political reasons which, due to a deep economic crisis, are witnessing the crisis of the dominant neoliberal model which has opposed any form of welfare state for over thirty years. To rise to the political challenge, the authors feel the need to go back to the concept that neoliberal rationality is based on, one which, in the name of efficiency, has contributed to dismantling social rights in Europe. We must first acknowledge the neoliberal criticisms of the traditional welfare model in order to create a discourse that recovers social rights in a scenario suiting the ‘ontology of the present’.

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