The alleged 'crisis of the welfare state' and the failure of the traditional defenders of the welfare state to respond to the New Right's critique

Type :

Term papers

Pages :

9 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

03/12/2009

Category :

Political science

Sub category :

Political science

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Summary :

Introduction.
This 'blueprint' for state welfare.
The expansion of state welfare during the post-war years.
1. The idea of the Beveridge Revolution.
2. Beveridge: Economic growth and full employment.
A 'growing measure of agreement on fundamentals'.
The steady economic growth that followed the end of the Second World War.
1. Hayek: The 'Austrian' school of economics.
2. Hayek: Beliefs about the state's attempts to control and direct society.
3. Milton Friedman: Another eminent economic commentator.
4. Friedman's main defense of his position.
The attack on welfare spending from the New Right.
1. A vision of the welfare state as creating a monopoly position for some interests.
2. Seldon: The central themes of New Right thinking.
Conclusion.
Bibliography.

Abstract

Nowhere do competing theoretical, ideological and political views rage more fiercely, than in the debates surrounding the existence and organization of the modern welfare state. For some, the welfare state stands as a testimony to human achievement and social progress, it represents a refusal to take for granted the outcomes of supposed economic laws, when they affront the notions of equality and justice, expressed in terms of those values and attitudes that make social life viable and sustainable. For others it is an inefficient and ineffective system of bureaucratic measures that thwart individual effort, impinge upon civil liberties and perpetuate a culture of dependency. In order to explore such issues in greater detail, it is my intention firstly, to examine the notion of consensus, as it was applied to the political character of post-war Britain. In so doing, I would hope to identify the various elements that served to 'legitimize' the welfare state and the 'political consensus' that was thought to exist during this period, thereby mapping out the territory against which the subsequent discussion is set. Secondly, I will examine the proposition advanced by some commentators that the welfare state is in crisis, illustrating where necessary the assumptions that underpin such a position.