Social Values and the Role of Law: The Use of Legal Planning Tools for Old Age by Privatised and Non-Privatised Kibbutz Members

Abstract

Historically, the Kibbutzim in Israel were established as collective, socialist communities. However, since the 1980s, the Kibbutz movement has undergone profound social processes. One of the outcomes of these processes was the privatisation of the Kibbutz. The goal of this study was to examine the relationship between the socio-legal structure of the Kibbutz (i.e. non-privatised versus privatised) and the awareness, knowledge and usage of legal planning tools for old age. Using a quantitative research method, a closed questionnaire was designed and distributed to a non-probability convenience sample, consisting of 295 respondents, of them 137 (46%) from traditional Kibbutzim and 158 (54%) from privatised Kibbutzim. Five different legal tools were examined: private pension; private long-term care insurance; advanced health-care directive, will, and organ donation. According to findings, on average, members of privatised Kibbutzim reported higher levels of awareness, knowledge and usage regarding legal planning tools for old age. These findings support other studies that point to the relationships between societal values (collectivist versus individualistic) and social policies regarding older persons – in general, and legal policies in the field of law and ageing – in specific. It is expected that a shift toward a more individualistic value-based society will increase the awareness and usage of individually based legal planning tools for old age.

Keywords: Elder law, Legal planning, Jurisprudential gerontology, Geriatric Jurisprudence, Kibbutz

JEL Classification: J14, J78, K10, K39, K49