ABSTRACT
The “unity of economic policy and social policy” is a firmly established slogan of the current government. In the East German vocabulary, social policy is an extraordinarily broad concept, encompassing main elements. In principle, a national wage policy exists to promote the four objectives of remuneration in accordance with actual work performance, reward for the acquisition of higher-skill levels, distribution of the labor force among economic sectors, and gradual elimination of wage inequalities among social groups. A major element in the social policy of the Socialist Unity party is the gradual increase in the share of consumption financed through the social fund. The purpose of income-maintenance programs is to replace at least part of a worker’s earnings lost due to old age or disability. All modern capitalist nations maintain unemployment insurance as a means to offset loss of income during periods of involuntary temporary unemployment. Health care is provided through social-fund expenditures in the form of a national health service.
