社会救助作为社会保障的重要内容,是现代社会发展和文明进步的标志,也是社会道德进步的标志。本文通过对西方和中国的社会救助产生、发展及运行的历史回顾,发现其背后的道德基础是对正义的追求。而对正义概念的理解从来都是不一样的,如何从中找到适合我国国情的正义概念,使社会救助制度既能发挥其应有的作用,又避免走上“福利国家”的两难境地是研究者的主要任务。 As an important part of social security, social assistance is a symbol of the development of modern society and progress of civilization. It is also a sign of social moral progress. Through a historical review of the emergence, development and operation of social assistance in the West and China, I find that the moral basis behind it is the pursuit of justice. However, the understanding of the concept of justice has always been different. How to find the concept of justice that suits our national conditions so that the social aid system can both play its proper role and avoid the dilemma of becoming a “welfare state”? The main task of the researcher.