Seminar paper from the year 2009 in the subject Organisation and administration - Miscellaneous, grade: 2,3, Berlin School of Economics and Law, language: English, abstract: Changing economic conditions, global financial crises and deficit-ridden budgets at the state and federal level are repeatedly giving rise to discussions about the meaning and purpose of the civil service. But it is also the public that no longer accepts the special features of civil service law uncritically. It is primarily financial considerations that give rise to calls for the abolition or at least limitation of the civil service to a core area of government tasks. However, this discussion, which is also emotional in parts, fails to recognize the special legitimacy that is based on the special requirements for state services and entitlements. The civil service is still an integral part of a modern state. The two aspects are indispensably intertwined. It is imperative, however, that the civil service does not disguise itself from social development trends, but rather takes them up, uses them as an opportunity for change and is open to them. It also seems to be in the nature of things, however, that criticism of civil servants does not always exist in principle, but seems to depend on developments over time. This phenomenon can primarily be observed whenever there is a crisis in the economy. Then the discussion about reducing bureaucracy and the demand for "less government" begins. Of course, this is only the case where the state does not provide any services. In the Federal Republic of Germany, civil service and the public sector are regarded as a special feature. With 1.7 million civil servants and 3.3 million salaried employees nationwide, the proportion of civil servants in the public sector is much lower than in other European countries. The extent to which the employment of white-collar workers in the public sector is actually more cost-effective than that of civil servants remains controversial. It is a little-studied scientific field so far. During the civil servant's active phase, the state does not have to pay any social benefits and only has to grant the civil servant an allowance in the event of illness.