The historical survey of the sociology of social security outlined in the previous chapter has underlined the growing importance of comparative studies of social policy. This seems natural because the tools of a sociological analysis can only be developed and tested when applied to several societies. My own factor analysis presented in this chapter and developed as part of the research programme of ISSA in Geneva was directly conceived as a methodological tool for a comparative study.

Presentation of an early forerunner of macrosociological factor analysis

This reference goes back to my unpublished doctoral thesis, written in the middle of 1950s. The title was ‘Sécurité sociale en France et en Grande-Bretagne – etude sociologique’ and the viva voce was held at the Sorbonne in February 1958. Its purpose was to study, at the international level and on a comparative basis, the interrelations between the institution of social security and its societal environment. This implied examining, first, how the institution was conceived and implemented in each country and, second, what were the main factors shaping its subsequent development. The underlying philosophical approach was holistic, assuming a full interconnection of social phenomena.

The sociological analysis included demographic, economic, political and psychological factors, studied within the context of each country. The psychological factor was included in the analysis more as a reminder of what was missing to complete the exercise, rather than as an account of some already available evidence. The argument in favour of including it was based on the observation that in current political life, assumptions are often made about what people wish for in social security without providing the necessary proof. Another point of interest concerned the difference in attitudes depending on personal experience with the working of the institution; a person who had actually received some social security benefits would not feel the same way as a passive participant in the scheme. At the time of writing, no serious sociological study was available on the subject on either side of the Channel, and an overview was presented of several projects under way approaching, at least marginally, user surveys and public opinion enquiries.