ABSTRACT
Social insurance is society's newest method of handling a very old problem-the problem of income-maintenance, of providing income from public funds for families whose normal income is interrupted or likely to be interrupted by the common misfortunes of life. In an urban and industrial society, in which all the nation's workers depend on each other's goods and services, families and local communities are no longer economically self-sufficient. As industry and finance increasingly knit the whole nation together into one great community, the biggest of these voluntary societies have become nation-wide and the idea has naturally followed that the whole community might be treated as one single National Benefit Society for social security. All income-maintenance services, whether based on the insurance or the assistance method, are public devices whereby the nation sets aside a share of its total supply of goods and services for the benefit of those who are unable or no longer expected to work.
