Systems, Fiddling and Strangers: Young People on the ‘Welfare State’

2003 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian McIntosh
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Young People ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Social World ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Qualitative Approaches ◽  
The Social ◽  
The One ◽  
The Welfare State

This paper is concerned with young people's understanding of the welfare state; who and what is it for, and what is their relation to it? It is argued that such qualitative research into these questions is not common. Exploring these issues increases our knowledge of the presence that ideas and discourses about welfare states have in young people's understanding of the social world. Qualitative approaches such as the one adopted in this paper can tap into meanings and perceptions that young people have in relation to the welfare state that can be glossed over with more quantitative concerns with ‘attitudes’.

Social Quality in a Transitive Society

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeriy Heyets
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
The Other ◽  
Social Quality ◽  
The Social ◽  
The One ◽  
Quality Approach ◽  
The Welfare State

Nearly 30 years of transformation of the sociopolitical and legal, socioeconomical and financial, sociocultural and welfare, and socioenvironmental dimensions in both Central and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, has led to a change of the social quality of daily circumstances. On the one hand, the interconnection and reciprocity of these four relevant dimensions of societal life is the underlying cause of such changes, and on the other, the state as main actor of the sociopolitical and legal dimension is the initiator of those changes. Applying the social quality approach, I will reflect in this article on the consequences of these changes, especially in Ukraine. In comparison, the dominant Western interpretation of the “welfare state” will also be discussed.

The Scandinavian Origins of the Social Interpretation of the Welfare State

1989 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Baldwin
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Initial Development ◽  
Sufficient Power ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Welfare State

If a question can be mal posée, surely an interpretation can be mal étendue. This has been the fate of the social interpretation of the welfare state. The cousin of social theories of bourgeois revolution, the social interpretation of the welfare state is part of a broader conception of the course of modern European history that until recently has laid claim to the status of a standard. The social interpretation sees the welfare states of certain countries as a victory for the working class and confirmation of the ability of its political representatives on the Left to use universalist, egalitarian, solidaristic measures of social policy on behalf of the least advantaged. Because the poor and the working class were groups that overlapped during the initial development of the welfare state, social policy was linked with the worker's needs. Faced with the ever-present probability of immiseration, the proletariat championed the cause of all needy and developed more pronounced sentiments of solidarity than other classes. Where it achieved sufficient power, the privileged classes were forced to consent to measures that apportioned the cost of risks among all, helping those buffeted by fate and social injustice at the expense of those docked in safe berths.

The Welfare State in Europe

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Pestieau ◽  
Mathieu Lefebvre
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Social Situation ◽  
Large Degree ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
The Social ◽  
Equity And Efficiency ◽  
Responsibility Of Government ◽  
Social Divide ◽  
Roll Back ◽  
The Welfare State

Although in Europe there continues to be a large degree of consensus that it is the responsibility of government to ensure that nobody who is poor, sick, disabled, unemployed or old is left deprived, there are mounting calls to roll back spending on the welfare state. Two main charges are raised: that it fails to achieve some of its main objectives, and that it is responsible for a decline in economic performance. Another charge is that it was conceived in a period very different from the present one and is not anymore adapted to the current realities. In this book, we intend to provide a balanced and informed analysis of these charges as well as some thoughts regarding the prospects of the welfare state in an increasingly integrated world. Written by two economists whose concern is both equity and efficiency, this book gives a set of answers to a number of important questions regarding the current social situation of European countries, the performance of the welfare states and the reforms that should be undertaken. It shows that the overall performance of the European welfare states as regarding its main objectives is satisfactory. There are differences across countries, with the Nordic countries leading the pack, but these differences seem to decrease. The book finally deals with an issue that is left unresolved and calls for some fundamental changes in social policies, namely the social divide that has been on the rise in Europe over the past decades and that hampers social cohesion.

Wohlfahrtsstaat und Interessenorganisationen im Wandel

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Labour Unions ◽  
Interest Representation ◽  
Social Risks ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Welfare State

Interest groups within the context of changing welfare states have gained widespread attention within the social sciences. Welfare states and interest groups are being faced with new challenges (e.g. in the context of several changes, such as new social risks). Schwache Interessen (weak interests) (such as poorly qualified ones) are also gaining more attention. This book discusses several different fields of interest representation in the welfare state. It analyses in what way constellations of interest representation have changed in modified welfare state environments. Several different organisations are analysed, including labour unions, the employers’ association and political parties. Moreover, the book also takes umbrella organisations of municipalities, social courts and educational policymakers into account. Until now, they have gained little attention from scholars. With contributions by: Lena Brüsewitz, Imke Friedrich, Sascha Kristin Futh, Tanja Klenk, Ulrike A.C. Müller, Frank Nullmeier, Sabine Ruß-Sattar, Friedbert Rüb, Wolfgang Schroeder, Benedikt Schreiter, Michaela Schulze, Florian Steinmüller, Christoph Strünck, Felix Welti

scholarly journals POLITIK HUKUM PERUNDANG-UNDANGAN : MEMPERTEGAS REFORMASI LEGISLASI YANG PROGRESIF

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 375
Author(s):  
M. Ilham F. Putuhena
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Social Space ◽  
National Development ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Program Review ◽  
The Social ◽  
State Welfare ◽  
The One

Sebagai negara yang berdasarkan hukum ( nomokracy ) dan demokrasi, Indonesia juga menerapkan peran negara sebagai negara kesejahteraan ( welfare states ), yang ternyata tidak mudah dalam pelaksanaannya. Undang-undang sebagai salah satu wajah hukum, ternyata tidak dapat berperan secara maksimal dalam ruang sosial, bahkan peraturan tertulis tersebut membawa masalah baru dalam penataan pembangunan nasional saat ini, sehingga perlu tindakan progresif dalam politik hukum perundang-undangan saat ini. Dengan pendekatan yuridis Normatif, penulis mencoba menempatkan politik hukum dengan cara mempertegas legislasi progresif, langkah-langkah yang harus dilakukan adalah segera melaksanakan Program review perundang-undang sebagai alat evaluasi perundang-undangan saat ini, dan kemudian merubah mekanisme pembahasan rancangan undang-undang di Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat, khususnya dengan mengganti mekanisme Daftar Infentaris Masalah (DIM) untuk meningkatkan efektivitas pembahasan, begitupun dengan penetapkan pembatasan masa berlaku tiap undang-undang untuk mendorong Undang-undang yang progresif.<p>As a state based on law (nomocracy) and democracy, Indonesia also implementing role of the state’s as a welfare state (welfare states) , which it was not easy in implementation. As the one face of law act was not able to play a role that contribute maximally in the social space, The written rules even bring new problems in the structuring of national development at this time , so it needs a progressive action in the legal politics of legislation at this time. With normative juridical approach , authors tried to put in the legal politics by clarifying progressive legislation, the steps that must be done are to immediately implement the legislation review program as a tools of evaluating the current legislation, And then alter the mechanism of Bill discussion in the House of Representatives, Specialy by changing the mechanism of List of Issues (DIM) to increase the effectiveness of the discussion, as well as setting the limitations on the duration of each act, to encourage progressive legislation.</p>

The Long Life of Liberal America: Law and State-Building in the U.S. and England

2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
William E. Forbath
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Social Insurance ◽  
State Building ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Law And Politics ◽  
American Liberalism ◽  
The One ◽  
The New Deal ◽  
The U.S ◽  
The Welfare State

Reports of the Strange Death of Liberal America are greatly exaggerated. James Henretta's essay of that title offers a shrewd and insightful portrait of Charles Evans Hughes. But the liberalism whose death Henretta reports did not die. And the “statist,” “centralization,” “economic planning,” and broad “social insurance” minded liberalism he reports as prevailing did not prevail. From a certain lofty altitude (and rueful attitude), all “big,” “modern” “welfare states” look the same. That is Henretta's viewpoint. His wonderfully suggestive comparative framework has as one of its premises that America and England proceeded along the administrative-and-welfare-state-building path at different paces but arrived at the same destination. For me, a comparison of the law and politics, processes and outcomes of twentieth-century state-building in the U.S. and England prompts different conclusions. There were conspicuous differences between the New Deal state that was fashioned in 1930s and '40s America and the welfare state England created in those decades. More interestingly, the ideology and institutional contours of this new American state were deeply influenced by that ambivalent (and lawyerly) brand of American liberalism Henretta rightly attributes to figures such as Hughes and Roscoe Pound—poised between “progressive” commitments to social reform, social provision, and administrative-state-building, on the one hand, and older, “classical” liberal commitments to limited (and decentralized, dual federalist) government and the primacy of courts and common law and traditional legal and constitutional niceties, on the other. My notion is that this “transitional” and “forgotten” liberalism and its champions won more important battles than they lost against their “statist” rivals. A “strange death,” indeed!

Towards a theory of the welfare state

2000 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franz-Xaver Kaufmann
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Reference Points ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
International Comparative Research ◽  
Generalized Framework ◽  
Market Production ◽  
International Comparative ◽  
The One ◽  
The Welfare State

The understanding of welfare states hitherto suffers from characteristic biases – national, political and disciplinary. This paper proposes a generalized framework for international comparative research, which remains as neutral as possible to such biases. The guarantee of social rights for everybody and the issue of societal reproduction are taken as reference points to define the political criteria for social welfare. However, politics and social policies remain a partial aspect of the production of welfare in a given society. A theory of the welfare state has to take into account the interactions among household production, market production and associative forms of welfare production, on the one side, and of political interventions on the other.

The Challenges Posed to Welfare States by Globalization

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 448-464
Author(s):  
Chaim Shinar
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Nation State ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Development ◽  
Economic Constraints ◽  
Long Term Trend ◽  
The Welfare State

When the debate on globalization started in the early 1990s, the dominant assumption was that globalization was a shocking new phenomenon. Moreover, this new development was seen as an attempt to undermine the sovereignty and economic functions of the nation state, hence undermining the fundamental basis of the welfare state. According to this perspective, the welfare state was expected to collapse as a result of economic constraints. Some influential publications promoted the idea that countries would find themselves captured in a global trap. At least in the field of social sciences, this thesis was interpreted differently: the weakening of the nation state by globalization was considered a myth that served as an excuse for cutting government budgets. Since then, the social sciences have developed an approach to globalization as a long-term trend within the capitalistic framework, driven by economic and political developments and dependent on pre-existing social conditions.

Comparative Social Policy and Political Conflict in Advanced Welfare States: Denmark and Sweden

1979 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gøsta Esping-Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Political Conflict ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Welfare State

There has developed an abundant literature on the social and political determinants of social policies, but few have addressed the question of how state policies, once implemented, affect the system of stratification in civil society. This article examines the political consequences of social policy in Denmark and Sweden, countries in which a social democratic labor movement has predominated for decades. Superficially, these two highly developed welfare states appear very similar. Yet, the political and social contexts in which their social policies have evolved differ substantially. I shall demonstrate the argument that the traditional welfare state approach may be conducive to a new and powerful political conflict, which directly questions the legitimacy of the welfare state itself, unless government is successful in subordinating private capitalist growth to effective public regulation. In Denmark, where social democratic governments have failed to match welfare state growth with more control of private capital, social policy has tended to undermine the political unity of the working class. Consequently, the Social Democratic Party has been weakened. Social welfare programs, in effect, have helped create new forms of stratification within the working class. In Sweden, social democratic governments have been quite successful in shifting a decisive degree of power over the private market to the state. This has helped avert a crisis of the welfare state, and has also been an important condition for continued social democratic hegemony and working-class unity. I conclude that social reform politics tend to be problematic from the point of view of the future power of social democratic movements.

From Solution to Problem

2019 ◽  
pp. 163-193
Author(s):  
Peter C. Caldwell
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Western World ◽  
Aid Workers ◽  
The West ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Welfare State

The 1970s and 1980s saw two important changes in the West German discussion of the welfare state. First, global trade put direct economic pressure on expensive welfare states in the western world. Second, the social science discussion of the welfare state shifted to a language of systems, which no longer viewed the welfare state as a tool of state or society, but asked about how systems of social policy could have unintended consequences—how social solutions could pose their own problems. Young Marxists, breaking with the SPD, questioned the possibility of a welfare state that could aid workers under capitalism; conservative state theorists questioned whether democracy, with its demands for state solutions, could paralyze the state. The result was a more complex reading of how the modern word created complex challenges for individuals and states alike, especially well articulated in the work of Kaufmann and Luhmann.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document