POST-INDUSTRIAL SOCIAL STATE: FORECASTS AND TRENDS
Aim. To identify the main trends in the development of the social state and formulate a forecast regarding the parameters of the social state and the social rights of citizens in the post-industrial era. Methodology. The research used forecasting methods, as well as dialectical, comparative and formal-logical methods. Results. The study highlights the general features of the legal status of citizens based on the characteristics of social legislation, identifies the main trends in the development of social relations, which are decisive for the welfare state in the near future: polarization of society, increasing inequality; anthropocentrism; decrease in institutional stability; «acceleration of life»; technologization of life and relationships; change in the mobility of citizens; postmodern tendencies; increasing the role and importance of consumption; changes in the role of the state. Conclusions are made about strengthening the paternalistic orientation of the social state, expanding the system of guaranteed social benefits, increasing the importance of the state’s distributive activity, the result of which should be the mitigation of social inequality (taking into account the emergence of new «post-industrial» boundaries), and prevention of a sharp polarization of society. Research implications. The research results contribute to the science of social security law, the concept of social rights and the social state, forming new directions of scientific research.