 Firstly, in section  1,  we look more closely at the question, “What is a social minimum?” This section introduces a number of basic distinctions that will serve to clarify the discussion. We define a “social minimum” as that bundle of resources which suffices in the circumstances of a society to enable someone to lead a minimally decent life. We define a “social minimum policy regime” as a set of policies and institutions that serve to secure reasonable access to this social minimum for all members of the society. As part of the task of clarification in this section, we review some of the main philosophical issues posed by these definitions. In particular, how are we to understand the notion of a “minimally decent life”?