ABSTRACT
There are three ways in which the Soviet conception of social policy and the welfare state differs from that in Western Europe. (These differences also apply to conceptions of welfare in post-war Eastern Europe.) First, Soviet-style socialism has meant that the state is the main if not the only employer. The state sets wage rates and salary scales; its decisions exercise a major influence on the so-called primary distribution of income. Earnings differentials are a reflection of the state's preferences. In a sense, therefore, the authorities can be assumed to have chosen the degree of inequality that results. This affects the scope for income redistribution.
