I. Introduction
In the political setting of the state, the social polices governing the operations of the government creates a significant impact to the entire population. These policies include ratified government legislation, both locally and centrally, that is geared towards addressing the social needs of the population. To a certain extent these legislations are considered policies attempting to enhance the welfare of the public. Aspects such as social security, housing, healthcare, and education constitute these social policies. In the current trend of internationalisation and globalisation, the said concepts are continuously changing to adapt to the existing situations that states have to contend with. This paper intends to describe the existing meaning and usage of such terms in the current context of Britain. Moreover, the paper similarly intends to take a historical look on how the welfare state is shaped through several social movements. In addition to analysing the effects of economic theories on the social policies of states, the study will also take into consideration the other welfare states in different western countries. To this end, the welfare state in the western setting will be established and differentiated with one another.
II. Welfare state
Contemporary welfare state in the context of Great Britain started subsequent to the Second World War. After a considerable loss of resources brought about by the ravages of war, England assumed an industrial capitalist society wherein it has significantly reduced the power of the state to control the economic factors in the market. In so doing, it created a surge of employment among the citizens of the country. (Castles, 2004, 119) With these set of circumstances, the government has assisted families in UK with regards to their acquisition of income. However, given the changes in leadership in the subsequent years, the concept of the welfare state has similarly altered frequently.
On the current setting, the current welfare state that UK is experiencing is considered as a ‘’liberal welfare state.” (Taylor-Gooby, 2004, 77) This may be primarily be the case considering the domination of the Labour Party on the ratification of social policies in the state. Considered as a “highly centralised liberal-leaning” with regards to the arrangement and framework, the social objective still remains to adhere to the basic principle of the welfare state: enhancing the well-being of the public. However, the setting of such concept has considerably concentrated to a more specific part of society. As compared to the earlier context of the welfare state wherein the primary focus is on the provision of employment for breadwinners, the current policies now take into consideration the well-being of particular groups of people who appears to be disadvantaged in some ways. These include lone parents, disabled individuals, and working mothers among others. (Taylor-Gooby, 2004, 77)
In the work of Lewis and Surender (2004, 123) they have similarly characterised the United Kingdom’s welfare state as a liberal model. In this setting, the said authors have indicated that the model in which UK uses in its welfare policies largely depend on the lower level of the government. Similarly, the spending that entails from that part of the government, particularly with reference to social welfare spending, is directly connected to the state’s non-profit sector. In addition to the claim, since UK is using such a model, it appears that the non-profit sector of the said state is considerably large. A huge non-profit sector connotes that voluntary approaches, devoid of the intervention of the government, are the preferred way to deal with the social conditions of the state. With this assumption, the said authors have indicated that United Kingdom, in its modern concept of the welfare state, have limited itself in its spending for social welfare. (Lewis and Surender, 2004, 123)
Based on the discussion in this part of the paper, the concept of the welfare state in UK has significantly changed in the past years. In the post-war era, the government have taken steps to aid the industries to help the public establish a source of living. On the other hand, the current period revealed that the government have considerably diminished its spending on social welfare and placed that commission on the hands of the civil society. From its roots and initial initiatives of the post-war era to the current labour dominated policies, the future of the welfare state still is vague. This may well be true considering the fact that the social policies are similarly subject to change the moment the ruling party changes.
III. The Women’s Movement and the Welfare State
The setting of UK with regards to its workforce has significantly been altered during the post-war era. These changes took place as a result of the majority of the male breadwinners’ drafting to the fight in the war. As a result, a lot of female workers have taken their place in the industries which were formerly dominated and solely administered by the male workforce. This surge of women in acquiring positions for paid employment has triggered a different view on the welfare state provided for by the British administration. In the place of men, the women’s movement to the employment sector adhered intimately to Marx’s context of a “reserve army of labour.” (Kiely, 1996, 14)
Theoretically, the concept of the welfare state in the feminist perspective represents a government that stands for male-centric policies and interests. Nevertheless, regardless of such condition, these theories also suggest that women could also penetrate through the system if only they are given the proper representation. (Sainbury, 1999, 141) Even though the welfare state has given the opportunity for the female population as represented in the conditions on the post-war decades, the claims of the feminist theories presents a contradictory view on the said concept. This may probably be true as reflected in the 1942 Beveridge Report as it imply for women to return to doing their domestic duties. (Pemberton, 2004, 35)
However, the government, with the help of women’s movement have significantly altered the face of the concept of welfare state by enhancing the condition of employment among the male and female populations. To illustrate, the government ratified the Equal Pays Act of 1970 which rests in the assumption that men and women who perform the same jobs are entitled to the same terms of employment, including pay and incentives. (McColgan, 1997, 87) This is further reinforced by the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act, which was later amended in 1986, to care for the rights of the female workers and protect their welfare in the workplace. (Riddell and Salisbury, 2000, 19) To this context, the possibility of direct or direct discrimination in the workplace has been considerably been reduced. Though there are still isolated cases of discrimination, at a certain degree, the claims of the feminists’ theories on the welfare state are slowly yet surely becoming a reality with the help of government initiatives to provide equal opportunities for male and females. The women’s movement has significantly changed the face of the welfare state in such a way that it provided equal opportunity for women in the employment sector. In this manner, this has opened the door for the female population in other aspects like social mobility, financial stability, and professional opportunities.
IV. Welfare States in Western Countries
There are several different kinds of welfare states. Social policies differ from one state to another. The work of Naldini (2003) clearly states this existence of diversity in terms of the welfare state. The said author took on several typologies of welfare states, specifically occupational and universalistic. (Naldini, 2003) The occupational model of the welfare state is anchored on the work performance of the social policies of the said states. It is further divided into a couple of divisions, occupational pure (France, Belgium, Germany, Austria) and occupational mix (Switzerland, Italy, Netherlands, Ireland). On the other hand, those under the universalistic model include the states which adhere to citizenship principles. The said model is similarly divided into universalistic pure (Finland, Norway, Denmark, and Sweden) and universalistic mix (New Zealand, Canada, and Great Britain).
According to the work of Naldini (2003, 30) those countries under the occupational model possess a traditional framework in the family setting wherein the male is the breadwinner and the female is the home-maker. She called this the “male breadwinner model.” It rests on the assumption that in the said states, with the family as a reference point, majority are dependent to a single breadwinner in a household. In such a situation, the countries pigeon-holed in the said category possess laws and legislation on social security laws such as survivor’s pension and health insurance.
On the other hand, Naldini (2003, 30) also coined the”dual-earner model” where both male and female are breadwinners for the family. This represents states where the policies are extended to the individual earner as compared to the previous model concentrating to the dependents. It represents states that regard employment equality and other entitlements such as pension rights. This is especially true in the context of Great Britain considering the previous discussions regarding the elevation of the status of women in the employment sector. The legislation ratified in the context of UK, bears corresponding attributes to that taken by Naldini (2003).
V. Keynes and Social Policy
Theoretical explanation of state policies has been used to justify the actions of states with regards to their social policies. In this part of the paper, the use of Keynesianism as a theory complementing social policy will be discussed. Keynesianism is normally characterised as a way of thinking particularly geared towards the maintenance of political stabilisation. However, De Angelis (2000, 2) goes further in stating that it is more than an economic theory, it is an “expansionary strategy” for development directly related to social and institutional models geared towards balancing the interests of the public. Nevertheless, the said author never discounted the fact that it is capitalist accumulation that drives this way of thinking. To a certain extent, the claims of the said author in this context remain to be limited to controlling the social aspects of capital accumulation, and in doing so, controlling the policies directly affecting the social aspects of the country: the established welfare state.
On a more basic level, the model provided for by Keynes represents a mixed economy wherein the state and private sector works hand in hand. In the context of social policy, Keynes’ views on the existence of “chronic unemployment” and how economic concepts like price sensitivity, wage rates and monetary policy contribute to this phenomenon. (Steele, 2001, 3) Although there is a common denominator in such themes seeking to deal with the reduction of unemployment or even the pursuit of full employment, a more definitive claim of these thinkers is based on the use of monetary expansion on the elimination of unemployment. To some degree, monetary expansion as it appears on the discussions of these academics presents a very inadequate tool to address the issue of expanding employment in society.
VI. Conclusion
The contemporary welfare state’s understood function is to supply stability to the present market driven social order. Equality in the form of either specific or universal terms is not a rule of the society, instead citizens are provided the smallest amount needed to carry on and not bother the operation of that society. The resources that are given to people within the state in most societies are not a utility of their need but instead a function of their donation to society prior to their need for a redistribution to come about. The welfare state along with the social policies present in the current period has these objectives in place, though there have been several improvements and developments towards these ends, UK still have a long way to go.
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