Understanding the United States’ State-Building through the Lens of Social Security System Evolution

Content introduction：

Starting from introducing and administering Civil War Pension program for veterans and their dependents, the U.S federal government has been increasingly involved in the provision of social security to all the citizens, an obligation which was initially the responsibility of charity and subsequently of local and state governments. The expansion of social security provision by the federal government has not only greatly extended the spectrum of rights of American citizens—from basic civil rights and political rights to economic rights and social rights，but also legitimized and strengthened the financial extractive capacity and administrative capacity of the federal government. The emergence and evolution of the social security system in the US has fundamentally redefined the contractual nature between US citizens and the modern state as represented by the federal government. This process has also reshaped the federal-state relationship, strengthened federal government’s capacity to intervene in economic and social affairs. The development of the social security system has contributed significantly to make the US federal government one of the most comprehensive as well as well-defined state apparatus. Social security development is part of the state-building process in the US, and the system itself is an important part of the modern state.