作为社会基础设施的民生保障体系建设

现有"社会基础设施"概念,大多是指有形的或实体形态的基础设施,而无形的或非实体形态的基础设施,迄今仍未受到足够重视;把包括民生保障体系在内的作为现代社会支撑基础的制度性设施,纳入"社会基础设施"概念的定义域,既有现实意义又有学理依据。"社会保障"概念已有历史形成的固定模式,且侧重于社会保障类传统项目,未能涵盖或容纳民生领域诸多重要方面,难以应对由当代风险社会所催生的诸多重大民生保障议题。依据基本民生需求内在逻辑来界定的"民生保障"概念,无论从保障对象还是从保障内容来看,都是一种既全面又普遍的相对平等的保障;有必要对目前归口不同部门分管的各类民生保障事项,进行系统化的整合和制度设计,避免因条块分割而导致制度缺失或空隙,形成面向所有社会群体或全体国民的可普遍分享且相对平等的民生保障体系。受传统经济发展观甚或"GDP发展观"影响,我国在民生保障领域的财政投入份额长期偏低,且原本有限的投入大多花在各类"民生工程"或硬件设施上,它们只是民生保障的必要物质条件或载体,而各种非实体形态的制度性基础设施,才是民生保障体系的核心所在;应从现代社会重要基石或基础设施的意义上,重新审视民生保障体系建设的必要性和重要性,以及民生领域资源投入的生产性或创造性。

The Construction of Livelihood Security System as Social Infrastructure

The existing concept of "social infrastructure" usually refers to the tangible infrastructure,but the intangible infrastructure is not regarded as important.It has practical significance and academic basis to bring the institutional facilities including the livelihood security system into line with the concept of "social infrastructure".The concept of "social security" has fixed pattern formed by history,and focuses on traditional social security issues.It overlooks many important aspects of livelihood,so that it cannot respond to many important livelihood security items brought by the contemporary risk society.The concept of "livelihood security" based on the inherent logic of the basic livelihood needs,is a kind of equal,comprehensive and general security.It is necessary to integrate and redesign all livelihood security items systematically to avoid the institutional deficiency or insufficiency and form a relatively equal and widely shared livelihood security system for all social groups or the whole population.Influenced by the traditional concept of economic development especially the "GDP-centered development perspective",the share of the financial investment in livelihood security is low for ages,and these limited inputs are usually allocated to various so called "livelihood projects" or hardware facilities,which are just the necessary material conditions or carriers of people’s livelihood protection.But the core of the livelihood security system is the intangible institutional infrastructure.Thus it is need to rethinking the necessity and significance of livelihood security system construction and the productivity or creativity of the resources invested in people’s livelihood from the perspective of building the cornerstone or infrastructure in modern society.