German High Court Outlines Profound Welfare Rights

Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court has rejected cuts to the welfare state, ruling that all citizens, even the poor, have a right to a “minimum level of participation in social, cultural, and political life.” That’s a much higher standard than providing for food and other basic needs.

Christian Science Monitor:

Last month, the federal constitutional court said that a sweeping reform established five years ago to reduce what was then seen as an overburdened welfare system was unconstitutional. The reason: It failed to ensure its 6.7 million recipients, especially children, “a dignified minimum income” and give less privileged citizens a “minimum level of participation in social, cultural, and political life.”

The court gave Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition until year’s end to create a better model. And it unleashed heated debate over the future of Germany’s social model at a time when, from France to Greece, social unrest in Europe is widespread.

“The court said that it’s not enough to have food, clothes, and a roof – people also have to be able to participate in society, otherwise they become outcasts,” says Christoph Butterwegge, a poverty expert at the University of Cologne. “For the constitutional court to define social participation as a right, that’s unprecedented.”

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