Here is a brief excerpt that I think frames the issue fairly well (xlation m.o.):
In fact, for some time now, experts have distinguished between three different models for national social systems: the Anglo-Saxon model, in which the state organizes large portions of the society such as education and health through private means and social security is restricted to preventing destitution; the continental European model, in which a large portion of social benefits is financed through contribution payments from employers and their employees rather than taxes; the Scandinavian model, in which the welfare state is financed primarily through taxes and self-employed and marginally employed persons are also entitled to comprehensive social benefits.
