ABSTRACT
The present chapter discusses social security law as an independent branch of law, characterised by the principle of solidarity. It is among those fields of law that affect every individual and (national and European) societies the most. Societal (r)evolutions have always been, and continue to be, accompanied by (r)evolutions of the law of social security. Legislators are under an obligation to follow the development of societal relations with their normative action. Historically, family solidarity was gradually replaced by social solidarity, making it a connecting tissue among its members. At first it focused on the poor, later on workers and active persons with members of their families (also moving within the EU), and finally everyone as a member of society should be included. Revolutions in the law of social security are not a common occurrence. Social security law is rather constantly, to a smaller or larger extent, subject to evolution. It is thus intriguing to explore whether (r)evolution in reverse, i.e., returning from social solidarity to individual responsibility for certain risks of living, is possible and desirable.
