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Welfare State

The welfare state is a concept of government where the state plays a key role in promoting citizens' economic and social well-being. It aims to provide basic security and equal opportunity through public services and benefits. Otto von Bismarck established the first modern welfare state in Germany in the late 1800s. The Beveridge Report of 1942 outlined a welfare state for Britain, promising social protections. Now most states aim to provide a minimum standard of living and equal opportunities for all citizens through welfare programs and economic intervention.

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211 views9 pages

Welfare State

The welfare state is a concept of government where the state plays a key role in promoting citizens' economic and social well-being. It aims to provide basic security and equal opportunity through public services and benefits. Otto von Bismarck established the first modern welfare state in Germany in the late 1800s. The Beveridge Report of 1942 outlined a welfare state for Britain, promising social protections. Now most states aim to provide a minimum standard of living and equal opportunities for all citizens through welfare programs and economic intervention.

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teamumatteraismv
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Welfare State

• The welfare state is a way of governing in which the


state or an established group of social institutions
provides basic economic security for its citizens.
• By definition, in a welfare state, the government is
responsible for the individual and social welfare of its
citizens.
Introduction

• A welfare state is a “concept of government in which the state plays


a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and
social well-being of its citizens.
• It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable
distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those unable to
avail themselves of the minimal provisions for a good life.
• The general term may cover a variety of forms of economic and
social organization. ”
History of the Welfare State

• Otto von Bismarck, the first Chancellor of Germany, created


the modern welfare state by building on a tradition of welfare
programs in Prussia and Saxony that began as early as in the
1840s, and by winning the support of business.
• Bismarck introduced old age pensions, accident insurance and
medical care that formed the basis of the modern European
welfare state.
• Beveridge report, 1942 promising adequate protection against want,
unemployment, illness and old age to every Briton marks the origin
of the modern Welfare State, but its actual implementation came in
post second world war era with the Labour Government, promising
many social, economic and welfare measures.
• Former tax gathering and police concept of State was now
obsolete. The need of social welfare led to the acceptance of a new
dimension, that is, the concept of welfare State.
• Former tax gathering and police concept of State was now
replaced by the concept of a caring and protective State. The
need of social welfare led to the acceptance of a new
dimension, that is, the concept of welfare State.
• By Welfare State we mean a State under which each
and every individual is provided equal opportunity in political,
economic and social fields and his general requirements are
fulfilled.
• The Welfare State is a society in which an assured minimum
standard of living and opportunity becomes the possession of
every citizen.
Highlights of Welfare State
1. The State activity does not remain within the limits of collecting
taxes and maintaining peace and order only.
2. Bringing about the material welfare of the people is the foremost
responsibility of the State.
3. It endeavors to synthesize Liberalism and Socialism.
4. Principle of mixed economy is the guiding force for the State.
5. State comes to the rescue of the poor and the weak and takes
adequate steps for providing them proper, required, and just
opportunities for their development. .
6. The State tries to regulate the production in accordance with the
needs of the society and implements economic planning to
achieve this goal.
• The activity of the State expands vastly and almost all the
aspects of its people are covered by it; to name a few-
• Roads, railways, bridges, post and telegraph, sanitation,
health, education, libraries, playgrounds, trade, industry,
labour, building activities, quality control of goods,
entertainment, pollution control, etc.
•Welfare State believes that State is a community where
State power is deliberately used to modify the normal play of
economic forces so as to obtain a more equal distribution of
income for every citizen.
• Now a days every State likes to call itself a Welfare State.
Critical Evaluation
1. The concept of welfare state is criticized on the ground that the
state becomes too powerful as it assumes role in all the fields.

2. But welfare state is the need of the day, especially for the countries
of Asia and Africa where there is a wide gap between the rich and
the poor.
3. Studies have shown that in welfare states, poverty decreases after
countries adopt welfare programs. Empirical evidence suggests that
taxes and transfers considerably reduce poverty in most countries who
have adopted welfare measures for their citizens.

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