ABSTRACT
The social state does not seek to care for and look after the citizen in every way. On the contrary, solidarity and subsidiarity also require the individual citizen to act socially in solidarity with others and especially to resort to individual and collective selfhelp and to render social assistance. The principle of subsidiarity even places the individual and the family at the centre of the social system. Action by the state is appropriate only when it is unavoidable. “If the individual is unable to help himself, he should be assisted … first by his family, the neighbourhood, a self-help group and voluntary welfare services and lastly by state institutions.” 35
A distinctive feature of the German social system is the organizational variety of insurers. There is no single insurer, but instead a wide range of public insurers, self-governing institutions and non-profit associations. The state merely prescribes general conditions for the activities of the various insurers. In social insurance, for example, the insured and the employers can manage their own affairs through their representative assemblies and management boards. The insured hold “social elections” to decide
interests in the assembly.
