Archives
Book Review
Welfare State and Welfare Change
Martin Powell and Martin Hewitt
ISBN: 0-3352051-6-X 2002 218 pages Buckingham: Open University Press
Adam Jamrozik
Department of Sociology, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA
This is an interesting book, both for its content and for the approach the authors have taken in addressing their aim to trace the evolution of the welfare state and of the forces that have influenced the changes in social policy over the past half-century. They also illustrate how the welfare state can be examined from a range of perspectives, with the result that it is then revealed as a 'multidimensional concept'. From the outset, the reader will note that, although the authors at first write about the welfare state in a universal context, the book is really about the welfare state in Britain and even more specifically England. There are only brief references in it to other countries, such as Sweden, France or Germany.
The authors begin their analysis by asking 'What is the welfare state?' and, as expected, they come up with literally dozens of definitions, illustrating first that the welfare state is a concept whose meaning has continued to change and, second, the welfare state can be defined by selectively decided criteria. It was partly for this reason that Richard Titmuss always put 'welfare state' in quotation marks (the other reason was, Titmuss thought, the welfare state was a concept, an idea, that might become a reality at some distant future but it was not yet there). As for the notion of welfare, the authors point out, quite appropriately, that the notion of welfare preceded the welfare state by many centuries: in England, the Statute of Labourers was enacted in 1351 and the first Poor Law Act in 1388. A significant marker was the Poor Law Act of 1601 which codified the previous legislations. From then on, especially in the 19th century, welfare issues emerged, rather tentatively, in the field of education and industrial legislation and, in a more concrete form, in the Poor Law Amendment Act in 1834 which introduced the concept of 'less-eligibility', restrictions on 'outdoor relief' and workhouses-not a very pleasant era of 'welfare'.
As for the welfare state in a more 'formal' sense, the authors identify three periods in Britain: the 'classic' welfare state, from the implementations of the recommendations of the Beveridge Report (1942) in 1945 to 1974; the 'restructured' welfare state that underwent a series of changes, both during Labour and Conservative years, until 1997; and the 'modern' welfare state of Labour, Tony Blair's 'third way'. Each period is analysed in the context of economic changes in the Western world and in the British political scene, but the overall trend has been a transition from what may be called a social-democratic period when ideas were explored about the feasibility of a 'welfare society', to an increasing influence of the neo-liberal philosophy and its correponding power of the market.
In the second part of the book, the authors examine the welfare state from a number of perspectives: economic, political, organisational, and social. This is an interesting exercise, as it demonstrates that social policy is subject to powerful influences, internally within Britain, and increasingly externally, through such forces as the International Monetary Fund and the overall trend towards globalisation of economic and financial activities. An interesting feature of this analysis is the authors' observation that Blair's 'New Labour' draws few ideas on social policy from the member social-democratic countries of the European Union, having instead closer links with the ideas of the New Democrats in the United States. As one writer on social policy has expressed it, 'the third way has been transported more by transatlantic jumbo jet than by Eurostar' (p.115). Indeed, the authors note, 'rather than borrowing from Europe, there have been some attempts to export Blairism. On a number of occasions, Blair has urged the EU socialist leaders that they must follow the US economic model; but the economic success of America must be combined with social justice. In some ways, Blair wants to lead the European social democrats via his third way to the promised land of the new Democrats of the USA'. (p.183) Fascinating observation, indeed, considering the growing population in USA living under the poverty line and a health service system that excludes millions of people from access to a GP.
One of the 'flaws' of the book is its scope and the level of analysis. It is a comprehensive overview of the welfare state in Britain and, as such, it might have been intended as a text book for courses in social policy. However, to derive full benefit from the book, the reader would need to have a comprehensive background knowledge of the subject. The volume of references the authors use throughout seems to assume that the reader would have such a knowledge, so the book would have some limitations as a text for students in an introductory course. It would be of more benefit for the lecturer of any such course.
What is the value of the book? In this reviewer's opinion, it is a valuable contribution to the history of the welfare state, especially the welfare state in Britain. More references and comments on the welfare state in the other European members of the European Union would have been helpful. Under the pressure from such organisations as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organisation, the welfare state is a 'disappearing species', and one has to seriously question whether the name can still be used with any reference to contemporary reality. Concepts tend to be reified, while the thing the concept originally aimed to define is no longer there. One of the important aims of the welfare state was to 'humanise capital', by controlling its excesses. This produced 'welfare capitalism'. However, now the roles have been reversed: one of the main criteria for the formulation of social policy is to provide the conditions to ensure the working of the private market. The observation that Tony Blair looks to the USA for a model of social policy (one could not really speak in this case about a model of the welfare state) and is attempting to influence other members of the EU in that direction certainly suggests that, if social policy in Britain is to progress along those lines, the term 'welfare state' in Britain will have to be used with big quotation marks. Richard Titmuss must be turning in his grave.
eContent Home