CHAPTER - V DEFINITION OF SOCIAL SECURITY <- A CHANGING CONCEPT. 1, The Beveridge concept developed in the

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1 2 6 CHAPTER - V DEFINITION OF SOCIAL SECURITY <- A CHANGING CONCEPT 1, The Beveridge concept developed in the United Kingdom, which had a considerable influence on world development* Lord Beveridge says, "The term 'social security' is used to denote the security of an income to take the place of earnings w,ben they are interrupted by unemployment, sickness or accident, to provide for retirement through age, to provide for loss of support by the death of another person, and to meet an exceptional expenditure, such as those connected with birth, death and marriage". 2. Social security is defined as "the security that society furnishes through appropriate organization, against certain risks to which its members are exposed". Thus, social security is a provision made by the society. It is 'social' because it represents the culmination of collective effort. Further, the provision is an organised one; it is not haphazard or dependent on some pretext or condition. The provision covers certain risks only. That way the definition defined above by the International Labour Organization is vague and.indeterminant. It is not clear as to what kind of

2 - 27 security is envisaged, the terra appropriate organisation is very elastic and can be interpreted in any way. Also, one does not know the risks covered - whether political, social, economic, moral, religious, biological, natural or such others to which the members of society are contiroifliisly expertt 3, According to Weber and Cohen, "social security is a controversial and dynamic subject which has various facets - philosophical, theoretical, humanitarian, financial, administrative, social, economic, political, statistical, acturial, medical and legal". 4, Friedlander defines social security as "a programme of protection provided by society against these contingencies of modern life, like sickness, unemployment, old age, dependency, industrial accidents, and invalidism against which the individual cannot be expected to protect himself and his family by his own ability or foresight", 5, The National Commission on Labour says that, "Social security envisages that the members of a community shall be protected by collective action against social risks, causing undue hardship and privation to individuals whose private resources can seldom be adequate to meet them". The underlying

3 idea behind social security measures is that the citizen who has contributed a great deal or is likely to contribute to his country's welfare should be given protection against certain hazards. Individuals working in various fields and in different capacities contribute towards the enrichment of society and, in turn, deserve to be taken care of, in times, when calamity befalls them. It is through social security measures that the State expresses its concern for its citizens. 7, The concept of social security is essentially related to the high ideals of human dignity and social justice. In a modern Welfare State comprehensive social security schemes take care of persons from "womb to tomb". It is one of the pillars on which the structure of the Welfare State rests. 8. "It is a major aspect of public policy today and the extent of its prevalence is a measure of the progress made by a country towards the ideal of a Welfare State". Social security programmes are now increasingly being accepted as useful and necessary instruments for the protection and stability of the labour force. The aim of all social security measures is in three folds: compensation, prevention and restoration.

4 - 29 9* In the beginning the providing of. preventive measures like the industrial safety measures or vocational training and rehabilitation were considered to be appropriate to meet the various contingencies of industrial life. Later on, it was realized that preventive measures could not rightly eliminate the industrial risks of the workers. Therefore, social security measures were designed so as to accomplish the primary purpose. It may be said to mean the elimination of five giants of Lord Beveridge on the road of reconstruction, viz. want, diseases, ignorance, squalor and idleness. The Labour Investigation Committee has further included security of tenure when in employment and freedom from the fear of victimization as the basic and perennial need. 10. Thus, for the purpose of study, social security may be defined as measures of cash and medical relief organized for the benefit of the victims of defined economic and biological contingencies. 11. This definition takes into account the most important characteristics of social security schemes which are as follows;

5 30 - (1) Pa?«visA rt <m? ash arid/s# media#! je a ils f» ( i i ) Once q u a lifie d, the b e n eficiary g ets b e n e fits as a r ig h t. ( i i i ) B en efits are paid as r e l i e f a g a in st temporary or permanent co n tin g en cies.