Stylianos Ioannis Tzagkarakis

Social welfare is a vital aspect of modern democracies, encompassing development, ideas, and public policy implementation. This study focuses on the theoretical foundations and practical dimensions of social welfare, aiming to understand its conceptual background and address contemporary challenges. Analyzing the relationship between social welfare and the concept of “need,” the study highlights the role of welfare policies in meeting essential requirements. It further explores the connection between social welfare, poverty, and social exclusion, emphasizing the need to combat marginalization through effective policies. The study delves into the interdependence of social welfare with economic development and growth, emphasizing their mutual reliance. It also examines the link between social welfare and social rights, advocating the combination of universal and selective policies to achieve welfare for all. Moreover, the study addresses emerging challenges such as digitization, robotization, and the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the importance of social investment and active policy implementation to adapt to new circumstances. The aim is to strike a balance between theoretical foundations, philosophical relationships, and practical solutions, ensuring that fundamental values are upheld while addressing contemporary needs. In conclusion, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of social welfare by bridging theoreticalparameters with practical policies. It underscores the importance of implementing relevant social policies to achieve social welfare and emphasizes the need to adapt social policies to evolving challenges.

The Greek welfare state has faced multidimensional crises from the first period of its existence until now. From the traditional unstable democratic and institutional context to the financial crisis, which exacerbated social problems, and from the latter to the pandemic, which posed challenges for the immediate handling of the health needs as well as long term necessities for measures in order to address the economic shortcomings of the pandemic, the Greek welfare state has been in a permanent strain. This study aims to present the main historical as well as contemporary challenges of the Greek welfare state and to draw some conclusions about its role in the post-covid era as well as to emphasize the main directions in order to address old and new social problems, always with reference to relative empirical data.