Liberalism and Welfare State in the Brazilian Constitutions

Abstract

The theoretical categories used to classify the relationship between State and society highlight citizens liberty before the State power, whose responsibilities vary accordingly to the degree of society autonomy. When the Constitution defines the rules of State political organization and the fundamental rights, it draws a picture that allows identifying if a country is more concerned with liberal or social values. On the other hand, there are times when the political reality do not reflect the constitutional model. The study of Brazilian constitutions emphasizes that in several moments of national history, there was a conflict between the legal and political categories (Liberal state, Welfare state) and institutional practices. This study is based on the analysis of national constitutions, emphasizing the context in which they were made and the obstacles encountered in its implementation process, and aims to reflect on the idealized State models in the regulatory texts, sometimes designed to structure a reality that did not come true, sometimes openly manipulated in order to legitimate clearly authoritarian regimes.

Enviado el (Submission date): 28/04/2015
Aceptado el (Acceptance date): 18/05/2015