Abstract
The article discusses the political components of recent reforms of social protection systems, with particular emphasis on activation policies to work. The arguments offered by governments for adoption are economic, but they are not divorced from ideological inspirations and they have clear political consequences. The article presents a reflection about the possibility of coexistence of democracy and lack of social protection for chronically unemployed, poor people receiving assistance and the growing number of persons engaged in a flexible labor market that offers precarious protection. In this context there are processes of individualization of risks and uncertainties, the erosion of social status resulting from questioning the ownership of law and the adoption of the right conditioning. The article analyzes the consequences to the citizenship, understood as belonging to a political community egalitarian basis.
Keywords:
social policy; social protection; welfare State; work; citizenship