Working Life Barometer in the Baltic Countries 2002 (pdf) - mol.fi

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of the state was part of the development of a welfare state; the science of social
politics was developed to protect people against the negative side-effects
of capitalist growth. The idea was both to decrease social problems and to increase
social cohesion and social capital in the society. Especially in the Nordic
Countries, the social reports had a normative goal: to produce descriptive
information about the real situation so that the decision-makers could act to
improve the conditions.
The measurement of welfare is such a difficult and, in part, a controversial
task. What should be measured and how? The social indicators movement was
divided into two groups, who emphasised different things. On one hand, there
was an objective school, which was strong in the Nordic Countries. It emphasised
the measuring of living standards and conditions (e.g. income, property,
health) using data on the material and economical life of the population. In the
rest of Europe and in the USA, a subjective school was dominant. It emphasised
more the individual’s own experiences and opinions concerning his/her
welfare. Due to these differences, the harmonisation of social reports has not
succeeded (Vogel 1989).
A Finnish sociologist, Erik Allardt, has made a kind of compromise between
objectivity and subjectivity. He emphasised both points of view in his analysis
of welfare (Allardt 1976). He drew up a fourfold table with standard of living
and quality of life on one axis (objective) and welfare and happiness (subjective)
on the other axis. From these combinations, Allardt formed three central
dimensions of welfare: having, loving and being. Having includes matters
connected with the living standard, loving means social relationships, and being
indicates possibilities to express oneself. Allardt’s concept of welfare emphasises
both objective and subjective points of view. It takes into account
material and economic basics, social relationships, and the individual’s possibilities
of giving expression to his/her own ideas and activities (Roos 1998,
25). Allardt’s idea is very versatile, and it can be summarised as follows: ‘A
being needs all things which he/she feels bad without’ (von Wright 1984, 25-
38).
Allardt’s concept of welfare forms the theoretical basis or a sort of a ‘metatheory’
for the Working Life Barometer. The Working Life Barometer studies
matters concerning the standard of living (e.g. salary and livelihood), matters