사회적 인권으로서의 복지: 복지공간에 대한 새로운 상상

The Republic of Korea is a welfare space in which the constitution clarifies that all citizens shall be entitled to a life worthy of human beings and the state shall have the duty to facilitate social security and welfare(Article 34). Though, political leaders of our time view welfare not from an angle of citizens’ rights but from the angle of charity from above. In this situation this article puts an emphasis on welfare as human rights, and especially focuses on social human rights. Welfare is mainly treated as citizens’ rights within the Westphalian Frame(Nancy Fraser) in which the nation-state plays a major role for promoting welfare. The extent of welfare benefits is often limited due to the existence of property rights and the obligation to work. But in a today’s globalizing world, in an emerging Post-Westphalian Frame, we need to reconceptualize welfare through the imagination of welfare space. Welfare has to reach beyond the limitations which are set by the framework of the nation-state. Social human rights expand the scope of welfare and entitle humans as recipients of welfare benefits based on their status as human beings regardless of nationality, class, gender, ethnicy and so on. When sketching the welfare space for the Korean future, we have to be aware of the limitations which the capitalist system sets. The imbalance between expenditures on social welfare and military expenditures has to be overcome. The bureaucratic character of the welfare state has to be reflected critically and democratization of social policy through citizens’ participation to be realized.