In March 2004, Peter Hasler of the Arbeitgeberverband depicted an alarming landscape for the future of the Swiss welfare state. According to Hasler, unfavorable demographic trends, spiraling social expenditure, and irresponsible social demands had allegedly heralded the emergence of a “Swiss social-Moloch” that he accused of “devouring” growing portions of social wealth and impeding reasonable welfare reforms. Between these lines one could almost hear a nostalgia for a time when business circles could boast of a more reasonable and frugal basis for Swiss social policy, characterized by moderate fiscal pressure and contribution rates to public programs and by free-ranging private forms of social provision.

As mentioned in the introduction, Swiss social expenditure has increased markedly during the last decade, and the graying of the population sets new challenges for the future of the welfare state. However, it is worth remembering that it is primarily the growing role devoted to private welfare schemes in social provision, including the transformation of occupational pension plans from voluntary to mandatory “add-ons” to the AHV, and the pre-eminence of private providers in health insurance that have fueled these rising expenditure levels. Similarly, Switzerland may now be a mainstream European welfare state in terms of overall social expenditure, but tax levels and social policy costs, key indicators of neo-liberal dogma, are still moderate in comparison with those of other western European countries.

It is important to bear in mind these basic facts before focusing on the three decades that followed the victory of the three-pillar doctrine.