Abstract
Ulrich Beck proposed the policy of “Bürgerarbeit” in the latter half of the 1990's in order to build a system of solidarity and recognition on a local level. This paper aims to explore the transformation of Bürgerarbeit and examine the system of solidarity and recognition that has been built in Germany, including how it has influenced society.
The following findings are worth mentioning: Some elements of Beck's policy of Bürgerarbeit were adopted in civic engagement and by the republican model project that named Bürgerarbeit as a workfare policy. Currently, civic engagement and Bürgerarbeit as a workfare policy have taken over some functions of intermediate groups and the welfare state, respectively. The existence of civic engagement and Bürgerarbeit as a workfare policy created fluid boundaries between housework, civic engagement (voluntary work), and care work, although labor (paid work) boundaries remained solid.
When Beck proposed the policy of Bürgerarbeit he aimed to reform society by establishing fluid boundaries between labor, civic engagement, housework, and care work in order to create an activitywhich included them all. That is, he aimed to transform the meaning of “work.” We must conclude that the term Bürgerarbeit serves as a republican workfare policy which as matters stand, enforces work upon the jobless, whereas Beck designed the idea as a criticism against paid work hegemony. On the other hand, some elements of his policy idea remain alive and have been utilized in civic engagement.
