SOLVING SOCIETY’S SOCIAL PROBLEMS VIA THE SOCIAL CARE MECHANISM: HISTORICAL EXPERIENCE OF ANCIENT GREECE

Abstract

The crisis in social protection of the society clearly defines the vector of solving social problems, in other words, social care. In this context, the experience of solving social problems gained during the historical development of Ancient Greece is of considerable interest. The study has revealed that Greek society suffered from many social problems. Society was aware of some of them (political and property inequality, idleness, begging, etc.) and comprehended the importance of choosing the ways to overcome them. On the other hand, public consciousness did not perceive others as a social threat (for example, prostitution). They were tolerated by traditions and customs. In the history of Ancient Greece, reforms were often introduced to solve critical social problems. The most comprehensive and radical reforms were during the reign of Solon and Pericles. The mechanism of implementation of these reforms was social care. The study substantiates that the concept of social care in ancient Greece was a state-aristocratic paternalism with the imperative of labor. The state was the subject of social care. The object of social care was the problems connected with the violation of social justice, specified in the problems of the most vulnerable groups of the city-state (polis) population. The objects of social care included not only the most vulnerable groups and individuals of the population, but as an exception, the entire polis collective, including slaves (in particular, during the spectacles). Social care functioned at three levels: national, group, and individual. The article elucidates the analysis of the social care forms and means used at all three levels with a focus on their positive and negative consequences for society. The key findings of the study argue that the increase in the number of objects of social care influenced greatly the dynamics of negative social phenomena growth and did not predetermine the solution of social problems.