Social welfare

Well-being of society. Object and measure of the progress of society. Also refers to self-organization, equality and prosperity of the citizens, to the scope of their rights and liberties. S.W. is both an index of the material and spiritual level of development of society and a permanent objective and striving toward a better state. The principle indexes of s.w. are: level of per capita income; real standard of living (food, housing, clothing); degree of development of democratic rights of the individual; freedom of conscience; and social guarantees that basic needs will be met in the areas of employment, health care, education and retirement or social security. For N.H. s.w. is dynamic and one of the primary categories corresponding to the effort to integrate the good of the individual and the good of the whole.