Criticism of "Welfare State" In Contemporary West German Socio-Eoonomic Thought

The FRG was one of few highly-developed capitalist countries, in which Keynesism was acepted neither in theory nor in the socio-eeonomic practice after the Second World War. Keynesiem was dominated here by neoliberalism and the concept of "social market economy" built on its basis while the West German state was called in the constitutional entry the "social legal state". The concept of the "welfare state" springing from the left wing of Keyneeism was submitted to. This criticism was reborn with an even greater force in the seventies when the Social Demooratic Party came to power voicing in favour of the "global steering" policy and contributing to very dynamic development of the social -welfare sector. It was also at that time that there appeared and was popularised a view that West Germany had become a "welfare state" , which was considered to be undesirable and harmful for "health" of the economy. A twilight of the long and favourable economic situation in the postwar years, which found its expression in the crisis from the years 1974-1975, and the following stage of economic stagnation (which, anyway lasts till today)gave credibility to such views and favoured criticism of the state, in general, and the welfare policy. In particular. Accordingly, the article is devoted to presentation of the main trends in the contemporary criticism o f the "welfare state" in the West German socio-economic thought, with an attempt made to evaluate them