In all societies, there must be some form of redistribution on resources. Without redistribution, no society can be viable. The methods of redistribution vary according to time and place. Different historical developmental patterns have produced myriad welfare state models, the development of which has been contingent on the mode of production and cultural and political constellations. In the present welfare states, there are huge differences in the roles of the individual, family, kinship, tribe, occupation, and state. Furthermore, the roles and forms of vertical and horizontal redistribution are numerous. Consequently, socioeconomic impacts in terms of the income distribution, inequality and poverty are different.
We argue that neither the historical development of social policy nor the future solutions are dictated by changes in the mode of production. There have been, and there will be, different paths to react to these changes. Industrialism made the old agrarian social security form obsolete, and new arrangements were created. Similarly, the digital era will challenge some of the welfare programmes created during the industrial period. However, this is not a law-like phenomenon. The reactions depend on the existing systems' political power structures and institutional legacies.