Estado, Sociedade e Democracia. Um novo contrato social para um novo estado social

• Main Author: Hildebrando Neto Pereira
• Format: Article
• Language: Portuguese
• Published: Universidade Regional do Noroeste do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul 2003-01-01
• Series: Desenvolvimento em Questão
• Subjects: state; society; social contract; social state
• Online Access: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=75210204

Throughout modern history, State and society have always been far apart as if the State problems did not affectcivil society any way. There are many reasons for such distance but, certainly, the presence of uncultured and anti-democratic elites in the centre of State powers stands out as a key reason in the exclusion of the civil society fromgovernmental decisions. Globalization and its iherent consequence, the neoliberalism, have reinforced this dichotomy even more, taking into account the fact that neoliberal policies have looked down on the State,especially on the Welfare State. However, among so many harmful consequences from neoliberal globalization,increase in social exclusion is considered the main concern. Being so, the interventionist Social State, accordingto the Keynes perspective, is conjuncturally out of question and thus society is left with the idea of making a newSocial Contract as well as a new Social State embedded in a more pluralist foundation in which the civil societyand the democratization of its relationships with the State are seen as crucial aspects for reducing the excludingimpact caused by the global capitalism mentioned phenomena.