Netherlands HAVO 5 (eindexamenjaar) Social Studies (civics)
Chapters: 2
1. Welfare state
History of the welfare state · Social rights and features of the welfare state · The welfare state in practice · International comparison
- The Welfare State and Social Security – A welfare state is a state that protects people against the big risks of life: illness, job loss, old age, disability and poverty. It does this with a safety net made of three parts. Social insurance is paid from contributions taken from wages. Social assistance is paid from taxes to people in need. Public services such as schools and hospitals are open to everyone. Countries mix these parts in different ways: liberal (low tax, small help), conservative (help linked to your job) and social-democratic (high tax, help for all). Today welfare states face ageing populations, rising costs, global competition and many informal workers.
2. Plural society
History of the plural society · Basic rights of a plural society · The plural society in practice · International comparison
- Multiculturalism: From Assimilation to Equal Respect – Most countries are home to many cultural groups. Governments have treated this diversity in different ways. Assimilation expects everyone to drop their own culture and become like the majority (the "melting pot"). Multiculturalism lets each group keep its culture while all share the same rights and laws (the "mosaic"). Over the 20th century many countries moved from exclusion and assimilation towards multiculturalism through policies, laws and changing attitudes, though debates and inequalities remain.
- Human Rights: Meaning, History, Types and Protection – Human rights are the basic freedoms and protections that belong to every person because they are human. They are universal, inalienable, indivisible and rooted in dignity. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) set a common standard, later made binding through treaties. Rights are protected by constitutions, courts, commissions, the UN and civil society, and they can be limited only by fair laws that protect others.
- The European Union – The European Union (EU) is a group of 27 European countries that share some decisions and laws. It began in 1951, when six countries pooled coal and steel to make war between them impossible. It grew step by step into a single market where goods, people, services and money move freely. The Commission proposes laws, the Parliament and the Council pass them, and the Court of Justice makes sure they are applied. 21 members share the euro. The United Kingdom left in 2020.