Man Vs The Welfare State

In this 1969 work, Henry Hazlitt explains why politicians who promise salvation through government are dangerous. Among the essays: Instant Utopia Salvation Through Government Spending "We Owe It To Ourselves" Consequences of Dollar Debasement The High Cost of Wage Hikes Price Controls More on Price Controls Who Protects the Consumer? Famines Are Government-Made Runaway Relief and Social Insecurity Income Without Work Fallacies of the Negative Income Tax Can We Guarantee Jobs? Soaking the Rich Soaking the Corporations Government Planning vs. Economic Growth Government As Prosperity-Maker Uruguay: Welfare State Gone Wild Inflation Is Worldwide The Case for the Gold Standard The Fallacy of Foreign Aid Government Unlimited From Spencer's 1884 to Orwell's 1984 The Task Confronting Libertarians What We Can Do About It

Weighing in on the euro-austerity debate, this book uses case studies from three countries to evaluate the distinctive politics of fiscal policy and welfare state reform during a key period in Europe.

This book offers a careful examination of the politics of social policy in an era of austerity and conservative governance. Focusing on the administrations of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, Pierson provides a compelling explanation for the welfare state's durability and for the few occasions where each government was able to achieve significant cutbacks. The programmes of the modern welfare state - the 'policy legacies' of previous governments - generally proved resistant to reform. Hemmed in by the political supports that have developed around mature social programmes, conservative opponents of the welfare state were successful only when they were able to divide the supporters of social programmes, compensate those negatively affected, or hide what they were doing from potential critics. The book will appeal to those interested in the politics of neo-conservatism as well as those concerned about the development of the modern welfare state. It will attract readers in the fields of comparative politics, public policy, and political economy.

The welfare state rests on the assumption that people have rights to food, shelter, health care, retirement income, and other goods provided by the government. David Kelley examines the historical origins of that assumption, and the rationale used to support it today.

Publisher Description

Originally published in 1976, Freedom and the Welfare State, critiques the Welfare State in Britain and analyses the relationship between freedom and welfare. The book considers philosophical, literary and political expressions of the ideals of liberty, and relates them to present-day issues in social policy and the social services. It tackles the major questions emerging in the current welfare debate such as, does state assistance destroy individual initiative and independence and, are welfare institutions agencies of social control which reinforce the dominant economic order?