Welfare State

There are three main interpretations of the idea of a welfare state:

Arguments for and against the Welfare State

The concept of the Welfare State remains extremely controversial, and there is continuing debate over governments' responsibility for their citizens' well being.

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Arguments in favor

• humanitarian - the idea that people should not suffer unnecessarily
• democratic - voters in most countries have favoured the gradual extension of social protection
• ethical - reciprocity (or exchange) is nearly universal as a moral principle, and most welfare systems are based around patterns of generalised exchange. Altruism, or helping others, is a moral obligation in most cultures, and charity and support for poorer people are also widely thought to be moral.
• religious - most major world religions emphasise the importance of social organisation rather than personal development alone. Religious obligations include the duty of charity and the obligation for solidarity
• mutual self-interest - several national systems have developed voluntarily through the growth of mutual insurance
• economic - social programs perform a range of economic functions, including e.g. the regulation of demand and structuring the labour market.
• social - social programs are used to promote objectives regarding education, family and work
• the failure of the private sector - advocates of social provision argue that the private sector fails to meet social objectives or to deliver the efficient production that economic theory claims.

Arguments against

• libertarian - state intervention infringes individual freedom; the individual should not rely on others to subsidize his own consumption
• conservative - social spending has undesirable effects on behavior, fostering dependency and reducing incentives to work
• economic - social spending is costly and requires high taxes. The welfare state has undesirable economic effects and thus, paradoxically, a negative effect on the welfare of its citizens
• individualist - social spending reduces the freedom of wealthy or successful individuals by transferring some of their wealth to others (this argument is important also for libertarians and conservatives)
• anti-regulatory - the welfare state is accused of greater state control over businesses, stifling growth and creating unemployment.
• the free market - advocates of the market believe that it leads to more efficient and effective production and service delivery than state-run welfare programs.