PLURALISM OF CONSTITUTIONAL VALUES: CONSTITUTING SOCIAL MARKET ECONOMY IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

Abstract

Departing from the fact that the welfare state concept, principles of social justice and equality, and entrepreneurial and market freedoms make an integral part of the Croatian constitutional identity, the paper emphasizes the importance of the development for the institution of a social market economy (as the only acceptable form of market relations in Croatia). The central thesis of the paper is that the content of the constitutional principles of taxation, although not yet explicitly confirmed as part of the constitutional identity, stands implicit in the eternal principles of the Croatian Constitution via requirements that arise from the concept of welfare state and the principles of social justice and equality. Additionally, the authors point out a need to reaffirm the Croatian citizens’ commitment to the social values of the Constitution by choosing social (redistributive) policies through the democratic electoral process.