Overview

While social welfare programs, often inspired by international organizations, are spreading throughout the world, the more far-reaching notion of governmental responsibility for the basic well-being of all members of a political society is not, although it remains a feature of Europe and the former British Commonwealth. The welfare state in the European sense is not simply an administrative arrangement of various measures of social protection but a political project embedded in distinct cultural traditions. Offering the first accessible account in English of the historical development of the European idea of the welfare state, this book reviews the intellectual foundations which underpinned the road towards the European welfare state, formulates some basic concepts for its understanding, and highlights the differences in the underlying structural and philosophical conditions between continental Europe and the English-speaking world.

Full Product Details

Author:   Franz-Xaver Kaufmann ,  John Veit-Wilson
Publisher:   Berghahn Books
Imprint:   Berghahn Books
Weight:   0.680kg
ISBN:  

9780857454768

ISBN 10:   0857454765
Pages:   400
Publication Date:   01 June 2012
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

List of Figures Foreword Anthony Atkinson Translator's Preface Acknowledgements Introduction: A Sociological Perspective PART I: INTELLECTUAL FOUNDATIONS Chapter 1. Pioneers of Social Reformism: Sismondi, List, Mill Chapter 2. German Origins of a Theory of Social Reform: Hegel, Stein and the Idea of 'Social Policy' Chapter 3. Christian Infl uences on Social Reform Chapter 4. Welfare Internationalism before the Welfare State: The Emergence of Social Human Rights PART II: THEORY OF SOCIAL POLICY Chapter 5. Social Security: The Leading Idea and its Problems Chapter 6. Social Policy Intervention: Elements of a Sociological Theory 146 Chapter 7. First-order and Second-order Social Policies PART III: THEORY OF AND FOR THE WELFARE STATE Chapter 8. The State and the Production of Welfare Chapter 9. National Welfare State Traditions and the European Social Model Chapter 10. Towards a Theory of the Welfare State PART IV: THE FUTURE OF THE WELFARE STATE Chapter 11. The Welfare State's Achievements and Continuing Problems Chapter 12. Human Assets and Demographic Challenges to the Welfare State Chapter 13. Solidarity and Redistribution under the Pressure of International Competition Chapter 14. What Comes after the Classic Welfare State? Bibliography Index of Names Index of Subjects

Reviews

This book renders accessible a rich set of essays on the past and future development of the welfare state in Europe - and is essential reading. * from the Foreword The author belongs to a handful of leading German sociologists. While his international reputation is undisputed, much of his work is not available in English. This collection is an excellent introduction to his work that combines systematic and historical approaches, is highly theoretical (also with respect to the history of social theory), but at the same time based on a profound knowledge of empirical material.. * Jurgen Kocka, Zentrum fur Zeithistorische Forschung Potsdam

Author Information

Franz-Xaver Kaufmann is Emeritus Professor of Social Policy and Sociology at the University of Bielefeld. His research has focused on the history and institutions of social policy and the welfare state as well as its theory, demographic and family issues, and the sociology of religion. His major publications in English include: The Public Sector: Challenge for Coordination and Learning (edited, 1991); Family Life and Family Policies in Europe (co-edited, 2 vols; 1997, 2002); Varieties of the Welfare State (2012); and Thinking about Social Policy: The German Tradition (2012).

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