The welfare state criticism of the losers of modernization: How social experiences of resentment shape populist welfare critique

2021 ◽  
pp. 000169932199419
Author(s):  
Arno Van Hootegem ◽  
Koen Abts ◽  
Bart Meuleman
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Relative Deprivation ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Social Criticism ◽  
Social Experiences ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Working People ◽  
Paradoxical Finding ◽  
The Welfare State

This article aims to explain the paradoxical finding that socio-economically vulnerable groups express more economic, moral and social criticism of the welfare state. As these groups generally benefit more from the welfare state and hold more egalitarian world views, their stronger criticism cannot be explained by the traditional frameworks of self-interest and ideology. As an alternative, we highlight the importance of social experiences of resentment as a source of discontent with welfare state performance. Our contribution argues that the dissatisfaction is embedded in a broader welfare populist critique that pits the hard-working people against the deceitful elite and welfare abusers. This welfare populism emerges from experiences of resentment related to the restructuring of group positions in the process of modernization. We differentiate between three types of discontent: economic status insecurity, group relative deprivation and social distrust. By applying structural equation modelling, we test whether resentful experiences mediate the relationship between the social structural position and welfare state criticism. Results indicate that relative deprivation consistently leads to more economic, moral and social criticism. Social distrust, moreover, stimulates a higher level of moral criticism. This study illustrates that resentment is indeed an important element for understanding the paradoxical relationship between social class and welfare state criticism.

Swedish Austerity: Benefits at Risk

1993 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 475-482
Author(s):  
Eero Carroll
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Economic Downturn ◽  
Social Programs ◽  
Welfare Programs ◽  
Service Programs ◽  
Social Welfare Programs ◽  
Working People ◽  
The Right ◽  
Social Service Programs ◽  
The Welfare State

The Swedish welfare state is facing the greatest threat since its inception. Attacks stem from the country's sharp economic downturn since 1989 and the related currency crisis of September 1992. Politicians of the right and left have responded to the economic crisis by initiating cutbacks in social welfare programs and supporting policies that will lead to a massive transfer of income from working people to corporations. The focus on cutting social programs is misplaced. The Swedish economy flourished for decades with the network of social service programs in place; the welfare state cannot be blamed for economic problems that have only recently arisen.

scholarly journals Granting immigrants access to social benefits? How self-interest influences support for welfare state restrictiveness

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Degen ◽  
Theresa Kuhn ◽  
Wouter van der Brug
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Large Body ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Social Benefits ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Welfare State

In the context of large-scale migration within and into Europe, the question of whether and under which conditions immigrants should be granted access to social benefits in the country of destination is of high political relevance. A large body of research has studied natives’ attitudes towards giving immigrants access to the welfare state, while research on attitudes of immigrants themselves is scarce. Focusing on the impact of self-interest, we compare immigrants and native citizens in their attitudes towards granting immigrants access to the welfare state. We identify three mechanisms through which self-interest can influence these attitudes: immigrant origin, socio-economic status and – for first-generation immigrants only – incorporation into the host society. We test our expectations using cross-national data from the European Social Survey round 2008. The findings suggest that self-interest is indeed one of the factors that motivate attitudes towards welfare state restrictiveness among natives and immigrants, but also point at relevant exceptions to this pattern.

scholarly journals Toward a New Welfare History

2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 234-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Pimpare
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Unemployment Insurance ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Sixth Edition ◽  
Working People ◽  
Welfare History ◽  
Social Welfare History ◽  
Official Data ◽  
The Welfare State

Histories of American welfare have been stories about the state. Like Walter Trattner's widely read From Poor Law to Welfare State, now in its sixth edition, they have offered a narrative about the slow but steady expansion and elaboration of state and federal protections granted to poor and working people, and have usually done so by charting increases in government expenditures, by documenting the institutionalization of welfare bureaucracies, and by tracing rises or declines in poverty, unemployment, and other aggregate measures of well-being. This has been the case even in more critical accounts that emphasize that American social welfare history is not a story just of progress, such as Michael Katz's In the Shadow of the Poorhouse. These narratives have emphasized programs, not people (whether it is the poorhouse, the asylum, and mother's pensions, or the more recent innovations of national unemployment insurance, Social Security, AFDC and TANF, and Medicare and Medicaid). In the investigations of the welfare state that dominate academic research, the content and timing of government policy itself has served as the dependent variable, while the independent variables have been a congeries of interests, institutions, and policy entrepreneurs. Our attention has been focused upon what government has done, why it was done, and what the effects were as measured in official data.

scholarly journals IDEOLOGY AND WELFARE STATE: HOW POLITICAL PARTIES INFLUENCE SOCIAL POLICY? THE CASE OF NORTH MACEDONIA

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 1343-1348
Author(s):  
Elisabeta Bajrami Ollogu
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Social Security ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Transitional Period ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Welfare State

With the collapse of the former SFRY115, citizens, vulnerable groups in particular and the overall Macedonian society had to face the first decade of a prolonged transition, characterized by continuous reforms and rapid changes as a result of the newly emerging social conditions, ideological, political and economic challenges. The first decade of transitional period resulted in chaotic changes not only in the economic system, but in weaker measures of social protection and social security. With increased rates of unemployment, pensions and social security declining, health care services weakened, a number of legislative changes were introduced, both in terms of funding, administration and delivery of social policy services and institutional arrangements of social protection system. However, it has been shown that these policies and laws have not improved the overall situation of social beneficiary users nor have they helped to include them in the labor market.Since the independence of the country, social policies have undergone many changes broadly influenced by demographic factors, low economic growth and ideological ‘preferences’ of political parties governing the country so far. The question that naturally arises is: how much the measures applied have given rise to a positive change for the existence of the welfare state and to what extent it can be estimated that the social policies undertaken were influenced by ideological preferences? What is the legacy with the former state-socialist welfare tradition? Which were the main influences in the establishment of the welfare state in North Macedonia? Methodologically, this research is mainly characterized by literature review with the aim to analyze the social context in which reforms have undergone and being implemented. A document analysis of social policy documents will be used as well.

scholarly journals The Welfare State as a Practice of Compromise: European Models

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 142-159
Author(s):  
Grigory Y. Kanarsh
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Social Model ◽  
Anglo Saxon ◽  
European Model ◽  
Northern European ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Welfare State

The article analyzes the features of three main models of the welfare state: German, Northern European, and Anglo-Saxon. The author turns to the analysis of these models, first, because the problem of the welfare state in the world is again coming to the fore, and secondly, because social development in the most developed countries, in the author’s opinion, in the future will be largely determined by the values and behavioral models that are embedded in the three main versions of the social state in Europe. From the author’s point of view, the key features of the European social model, which combines these three versions, are respect for rights and human dignity, the ideas of equality and solidarity, the ideas of social and political compromise, and the choice of an evolutionary path of development. According to the author, these features are the main difference between the European model and what characterizes the political culture of Russia with its maximalism and tendency to extremes. The author believes that the social experience of Europe is something that needs to be addressed today in Russian conditions and that can be extremely valuable for us. At the same time, as shown in the article, the welfare state in Europe has important country features. The German model is characterized by an emphasis on maintaining the socio-economic status of the individual – this is a conservative model. The Northern European model is based on the principles of universal equality and universalism – it is a social-democratic model. And the Anglo-Saxon model, based on the low role of the state, on the great importance of civil society, is a liberal model. Nevertheless, despite significant differences, as shown in the article, all these models are characterized by the desire to implement compromise principles, to find a “Golden mean,” which makes them highly effective.

scholarly journals Does Educational Attainment Affect Residents’ Health?

Healthcare ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 364
Author(s):  
Cuihong Long ◽  
Pei Liu ◽  
Chengzhi Yi
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Health Effect ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Direct Role ◽  
Healthy Behaviors ◽  
Objective Health

Based on the data of the Chinese General Social Survey 2015 (CGSS2015), this article conducts an empirical analysis on the relationship between education and health status of Chinese residents by using the structural equation model (SEM), the propensity score matching (PSM) method, and generalized ordered logit (Gologit) model. Our study found that education promotes both the subjective and objective health of residents, and the finding holds true after considering the selection bias. In addition to having a direct role, education could promote health through improved mental health, economic status, and healthy behaviors. The finding is consistent with the explanations in existing research of “efficiency-improving effect”, “mental health effect”, and “budget relaxation effect”. Further research on the mechanism of education affecting health through structural equation modeling finds that mental health plays a more important role than healthy behaviors and economic status. In terms of the differences of various groups, education has stronger effect on vulnerable groups with fewer social resources, which shows that education helps reduce health inequality. The conclusion has important policy significance.

The welfare state and social capital in Europe: Reassessing a complex relationship

2017 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuele Ferragina
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Exceptional Case ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
State Size ◽  
The Welfare State

The article investigates the relationship between the welfare state and social capital in Europe during the 1990s and the 2000s using structural equation modelling (SEM). By formulating and testing the hypothesis that welfare state generosity and welfare state size have different effects on social capital, we reassess the explanatory power of the main theories in the field and the findings of previous empirical work. We strongly support the contention of institutional theory that there is a positive association between high degrees of welfare state generosity and social capital. Moreover, we partially confirm the concern of neoclassical and communitarian theories for the negative correlation between large-size welfare states and social capital. The positive relationship between welfare state generosity and social capital is much stronger than the negative association observed with welfare state size. Finally, we interpret the considerable cross-country variation using welfare regime theory and several country cases. We illuminate different mechanisms linking welfare state development and social capital creation, discussing the Danish and Dutch third sector experiences and pointing to Sweden as an exceptional case of decline. Furthermore, we highlight the importance of regional variation in Belgium, Germany and Italy and complement the analysis also briefly discussing the Austrian, French, Irish and British cases.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Vaccinations and the Right to Health in Indonesia: Social Justice Analysis

Lentera Hukum ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 211
Author(s):  
Muhammad Rafliansah Aziz ◽  
Muhammad Alfitras Tavares ◽  
Chalisa Jasmine Azhima
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Distributive Justice ◽  
Right To Health ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Vaccination Policy ◽  
Legal Research ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Welfare State

While the COVID-19 pandemic is far from the end, vaccinations have become an inevitable alternative in combating this pandemic. According to the WHO, COVID-19 vaccines are considered public goods. Consequently, they should be distributed equally to the citizens as the fulfillment of the right to health. This study aimed to analyze how COVID-19 vaccinations in Indonesia have been practiced. Also, it examined the government’s responsibility to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are distributed equally in reflecting distributive justice by enquiring to what extent the government’s policy on independent vaccination relates to the fulfillment of human rights. This study used a legal research method based on a literature review. This study showed that some aspects of the vaccination are under distributive justice and welfare state. However, the Gotong Royong vaccination policy does not refer to distributive justice and the welfare state, resulting in injustice, discrimination, and economic inequality because it only provides certain privileged citizens access to vaccines. Therefore, the government needs to reconsider the Gotong Royong vaccination, focusing on accelerating the vaccination system for vulnerable individuals and groups. KEYWORDS: COVID-19, Right to Health, Social Justice, Vulnerable Groups.

scholarly journals European social model and opportunities for strengthening Welfare State in Latin America

2020 ◽  
pp. 184-194
Author(s):  
Eleonora Ermolieva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Social Model ◽  
Medium Term ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Latin American Region ◽  
Working People ◽  
The Welfare State

The article contains a comparative analysis of European and Latin American models of the Welfare State. The author shows that the experience of formation the European social paradigm has been carefully studied in Latin American region in the past, and is taken into account nowadays, when all the countries over the planet are faced with the dramatic consequences of the Covid-19 corona virus pandemic. The labor market crisis, a sharp decline in living standards objectively forces the Social States on both sides of the Atlantic to search for medium term strategies for social protection of working people and the most vulnerable strata of society. The hypothesis is put forward that the European-Latin American сooperation in the social field of government policy will help to find the most optimal measures for overcoming the difficulties that have arisen.

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