Welfare state
There are three main interpretations of the idea of a "welfare state". In the first, a welfare state is an ideal model in which the government assumes the primary responsibility for the individual and social welfare of its citizens. Secondly, the term is used for the provision of welfare services by the state. Third, welfare states may be identified with general systems of social protection. In many "welfare states" welfare is not provided by the state at all, but by a combination of independent, voluntary and government services.Examples of early welfare-states in the modern world are the Sweden and New Zealand of the 1930s. Changed attitudes in reaction to the Great Depression were instrumental in the move to the welfare state in many countries, a harbinger of new times where "cradle-to-grave" services became a reality in contrast to the harsh mass-poverty of the Depression.
Social protection tends to be more advanced in economically more developed countries; poorer countries generally have more limited welfare services. Critics of the welfare state in the US claim it makes citizens lazy and less inclined to work, however advocates claim that this is unsupported by the economic evidence and that there is no association between economic performance and welfare expenditure in developed countries. The Welfare State idea is also criticized as not much bang for the buck, however others point to counterexamples that may suggest otherwise. For example, national systems like the UK National Health Service are proportionately cheaper, and have better coverage, than market-based systems. (The OECD produces international statistics on health care [1]) The Welfare State is accused of resulting in high taxes in places like Denmark (Tax level of 50.4% of the GNP in 2002) and Sweden (Tax level of 50.3% of the GNP in 2002). Some do, but these countries also have high wage economies and high GNPs. Various studies (e.g. H Wilensky, 1975, The Welfare State and Equality) also suggest that expenditure on welfare services is not the main predictor of total government expenditure, instead suggesting that miltary expenditure and the relative numbers of elderly people are more significant factors. Critics of the welfare state also argue that these government services are in fact inefficient and thus expensive, compared to what you would get for your money in nations with less welfare, such as the USA. In fact, the US system is substantially more expensive, especially in health care, because of its organisational diversity and heavy administrative costs.
Examples of welfare states
See also