Welfare State

The welfare state is an add-on, or modification, of the capitalist market system, with an ideological foundation in the concept of social justice and its professed political purpose for the creation of a safety net for the public and a stabilization of market dynamics. Although the term was originally used to describe the legislation passed by the United Kingdom’s Labour Party government between 1945 and 1950 (consisting of, e.g., a pension system, National Health Service, family allowances, and housing for workers), the origins of the welfare state can be traced back to three older intellectual traditions.

Different capitalist countries manifest the welfare state differently, although a broad consensus emerged in the West in the middle of the 20th century that the welfare state was a necessary ...