Welfare State

Series of laws and political decisions taken after 1945 with the aim of providing a social net and access to education, housing and health for everyone. Prepared by committees, research and inquiries about the social condition in Britain such as the Beveridge Report (1942) or the Butler Act (1944).

"Welfare was seen not merely as a means of meeting a need, but by its organisation, and the means by its delivery, it was conceived as a tool for building good character." - Frank Field

According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2005: 1732), the term Welfare State is either “a system by which the government provides a range of free services to people who need them, for example medical care, money for people without work, care for old people, etc.” or it refers to “a country that has such a system.” This article will mainly deal with the first possibility of the definition. Additionally, the focus in this article is on the British welfare state. Information on the welfare states Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Finland and Ireland can be found in The Welfare State – Past, Present, Future (2002).

When referring to the British welfare state, the time that is thought of is usually from after the Second World War in 1945 to today. However, the earliest forms of this system emerged, according to Field’s essay (2011), already in medieval times. Adding, it should be mentioned that the German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck “was the first statesman in modern history to develop a far-reaching and comprehensive programme for the state to heal social wounds of modern society” (Barmeyer in Jensen 2002, 98). During Bismarck’s time, many people moved from rural areas to the city, the birth rate was high in the lower class and poverty (cf. Barmeyer in Jensen 2002, 98) were the main societal problems. Thus, Bismarck created a welfare programme in order to support the workers and those who did not have a job, to provide peace and social security (cf. Barmeyer in Jensen 2002, 99). Yet, not only did the German chancellor support his people but also the state as a system. His goal was to “make it financially more independent from countries and communities” (Barmeyer in Jensen 2002, 100). Due to these facts, one might want to agree with Field (2011) who states that “Lloyd George¹ did not therefore invent the welfare state. As we have seen it was already very much in existence. But he did, along with a young Winston Churchill, refine the concept and drive it forward into the arms of the state - surprising for a Liberal politician.” [page??]

In conclusion, the main aim of the system of a welfare state is to support especially those citizens who are in need. Thus, the great differences in society are supposed to be removed. The basic human needs, according to Maslow e.g. food and housing, should to be provided for each person. Life of Britain’s entire population was and still is valued and meant to improve by means of a welfare state. This is successful with regard to many aspects; nevertheless not all problems can be solved.

notes:

¹ David Lloyd George (Liberal Party) became Prime Minister in December 1916 and dropped out of office in 1922. He died on 26 March 1945.

Literature:

BBC History website: Historic figures. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/george_david_lloyd.shtml. Accessed: 13.05.2012

Field, Frank. The Welfare State - Never Ending Reform. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/modern/field_01.shtml. Accessed: 13.05.2012.

Jensen, Henrik (ed.). The Welfare State – Past, Present, Future. Pisa: Edizioni Plus – Università di Pisa, 2002.

Wehmeier, Sally et al. (eds.). Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.