»Nicht mehr« und »noch nicht«

Traditional forms of solidarity, especially those deriving from family structures, have been widely considered obsolete and as an impediment to economic development, especially in the context of third-world development and social politics, and have thus been replaced by governmental forms of social security. In the meantime Europe seems to be moving in the opposite direction: here the social (welfare) state is being dismantled, since the level of welfare benefits and claims on the economy seem to be causing an economic decline. The essay treats facts and assumptions about the importance of family-solidarity in the social politics of third world countries and attempts to establish a connection with the debates in Europe on the relation between the state and traditional forms of solidarity