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Very Short Introductions #468
The Welfare State: A Very Short Introduction
Welfare states vary across nations and change over time. And the balance between markets and government; free enterprise and social protection is perennially in question. But all developed societies have welfare states of one kind or another - they are a fundamental dimension of modern government. And even after decades of free-market criticism and reform, their core institutions have proven resilient and popular.
This Very Short Introduction describes the modern welfare state, explaining its historical and contemporary significance and arguing that far from being 'a failure' or 'a problem', welfare states are an essential element of contemporary capitalism, and a vital concomitant of democratic government. In this accessible and entertaining account, David Garland cuts through the fog of misunderstandings to explain in clear and simple terms, what welfare states are, how they work, and why they matter.
ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
This Very Short Introduction describes the modern welfare state, explaining its historical and contemporary significance and arguing that far from being 'a failure' or 'a problem', welfare states are an essential element of contemporary capitalism, and a vital concomitant of democratic government. In this accessible and entertaining account, David Garland cuts through the fog of misunderstandings to explain in clear and simple terms, what welfare states are, how they work, and why they matter.
ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
153 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2016
35 people are currently reading
419 people want to read
About the author
David Garland
14 books9 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
David Garland is the Arthur T. Vanderbilt Professor of Law and Professor of Sociology at New York University. He is the author of the award-winning studies Punishment and Welfare and Punishment and Modern Society.
David Garland is the Arthur T. Vanderbilt Professor of Law and Professor of Sociology at New York University. He is the author of the award-winning studies Punishment and Welfare and Punishment and Modern Society.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 2, 2020
Perhaps the most recurring theme in David Garland's work is that for contemporary western societies the welfare state is what Émile Durkheim described as a "normal social fact". In other words,
How can it be so? What about the right-wing ideologues who would like us to believe that the welfare state is but a parasitic entity that hinders the true workings of the market, preventing the supposedly inevitable widespread prosperity that unfettered capitalism would produce? For such fantasies, obviously, there is zero backing in empirical or historical evidence. As Marx and Engels vividly pointed out, capitalism is a deeply revolutionary, and thus disruptive, economic system. As well as as being an engine for growth, left to its own device, it would produce destructive cycles of boom and bust, chronic insecurity for workers, health hazards, and would fail to adequately provide public goods. One need not be a revolutionary Marxist to acknowledge such basic facts. Even as early as 1880s, the conservative Prussian Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, was astute enough to recognize the necessity for state provision of social insurance. By the end of the First World War, which promptly ended the first era of globalisation and shattered the hopes and dreams of the classical liberals, the unavoidability of "encasement" of markets by social institutions had become a point of consensus all across the political spectrum. As Quinn Slobodian identifies in his masterful book, Globalists: The End of Empire and the Birth of Neoliberalism,
In mentioning the similarities between such eclectic thinkers as social-democratic Polanyi, New Liberal Keynes, and neoliberals like Hayek, Slobodian makes an illuminating point. Despite the divergent aspirations of these figures, they seem to share a premise regarding the infeasibility of unimpeded capitalism. Perhaps there is a parallel to be found between their respective intellectual projects, and the varieties of welfare states that Garland mentions: social-democratic regimes (e.g. Sweden), liberal regimes (e.g. the US), and conservative regimes (e.g. Germany). The social-democratic model attempts to achieve egalitarian outcomes through collective bargaining between strong unions and firms, universal public services, and extensive programs of redistribution which aim to reduce dependence on families and gender disparities in order to facilitate individual choices and lifestyles. In contrast, liberal welfare regimes tend to be much more "market-conforming" and much less comprehensive. For instance, the United States lacks basic components such as universal healthcare, family allowances, and sickness and maternity leave benefits. The inegalitarian structure of these regimes reduces social mobility and leads to high levels of poverty. The conservative model which is mostly to be found in continental Europe, has its own distinct features. While imposing more controls on the market than liberal states do, they have more of a paternalistic character and tend to "reproduce occupational and status differentials and reinforce traditional family structures". It has to be noted that these categories are neither exhaustive nor completely exclusive, as each country has unique institutions of its own.
Nonetheless, Garland appears to favour the social-democratic model, noting that:
If there is a takeaway to be had from Garland's short introduction to the welfare state, it's that welfare states do much more beyond serving the necessary (and highly laudable) task of protecting the most vulnerable members of societies. They, in fact, promote efficiency and economic growth through sensible macroeconomic interventions. Keynesian demand management reduces the economic damage that arise from business cycle fluctuations. Sectoral bargaining through unions (equal pay for equal work in each sector, regardless of the firm) encourages productivity growth by incentivising businesses to make productivity-enhancing investments and weeds out inefficient firms. Generous unemployment benefits and active labour market policies increase the flexibility of workers, and in turn improve the quality of labour allocation. High levels of investment on childcare, healthcare, education, and infrastructure not only improve quality of life and promote human happiness, but also pay for themselves in the long run. For all the rhetorical clichés on the right that emphasise the ostensible benefits of laissez-faire capitalism for economic growth and individual choice, that can't be farther from the truth. As economist Mike Konczal recently said,
If the political left can get its act together and rediscover its 20th-century productivist roots, it need not remain so.
the welfare state is not a policy option that we are free to adopt or reject at will. Nor is it a phase of post-war history that we are now leaving behind. The welfare state is, instead, a fundamental dimension of modern government, absolutely integral to the economic functioning and social health of capitalist societies.
How can it be so? What about the right-wing ideologues who would like us to believe that the welfare state is but a parasitic entity that hinders the true workings of the market, preventing the supposedly inevitable widespread prosperity that unfettered capitalism would produce? For such fantasies, obviously, there is zero backing in empirical or historical evidence. As Marx and Engels vividly pointed out, capitalism is a deeply revolutionary, and thus disruptive, economic system. As well as as being an engine for growth, left to its own device, it would produce destructive cycles of boom and bust, chronic insecurity for workers, health hazards, and would fail to adequately provide public goods. One need not be a revolutionary Marxist to acknowledge such basic facts. Even as early as 1880s, the conservative Prussian Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, was astute enough to recognize the necessity for state provision of social insurance. By the end of the First World War, which promptly ended the first era of globalisation and shattered the hopes and dreams of the classical liberals, the unavoidability of "encasement" of markets by social institutions had become a point of consensus all across the political spectrum. As Quinn Slobodian identifies in his masterful book, Globalists: The End of Empire and the Birth of Neoliberalism,
self-described neoliberals did not believe in self-regulating markets as autonomous entities [...] They sought neither the disappearance of the state nor the disappearance of borders. And they did not see the world only through the lens of the individual. In fact, the foundational neoliberal insight is comparable to that of John Maynard Keynes and Karl Polanyi: the market does not and cannot take care of itself.
In mentioning the similarities between such eclectic thinkers as social-democratic Polanyi, New Liberal Keynes, and neoliberals like Hayek, Slobodian makes an illuminating point. Despite the divergent aspirations of these figures, they seem to share a premise regarding the infeasibility of unimpeded capitalism. Perhaps there is a parallel to be found between their respective intellectual projects, and the varieties of welfare states that Garland mentions: social-democratic regimes (e.g. Sweden), liberal regimes (e.g. the US), and conservative regimes (e.g. Germany). The social-democratic model attempts to achieve egalitarian outcomes through collective bargaining between strong unions and firms, universal public services, and extensive programs of redistribution which aim to reduce dependence on families and gender disparities in order to facilitate individual choices and lifestyles. In contrast, liberal welfare regimes tend to be much more "market-conforming" and much less comprehensive. For instance, the United States lacks basic components such as universal healthcare, family allowances, and sickness and maternity leave benefits. The inegalitarian structure of these regimes reduces social mobility and leads to high levels of poverty. The conservative model which is mostly to be found in continental Europe, has its own distinct features. While imposing more controls on the market than liberal states do, they have more of a paternalistic character and tend to "reproduce occupational and status differentials and reinforce traditional family structures". It has to be noted that these categories are neither exhaustive nor completely exclusive, as each country has unique institutions of its own.
Nonetheless, Garland appears to favour the social-democratic model, noting that:
Sweden’s welfare state has succeeded in combining equity and efficiency —two goals usually seen as conflicting— achieving low levels of poverty and economic inequality, high levels of gender equality and social mobility, and high standards of living.
If there is a takeaway to be had from Garland's short introduction to the welfare state, it's that welfare states do much more beyond serving the necessary (and highly laudable) task of protecting the most vulnerable members of societies. They, in fact, promote efficiency and economic growth through sensible macroeconomic interventions. Keynesian demand management reduces the economic damage that arise from business cycle fluctuations. Sectoral bargaining through unions (equal pay for equal work in each sector, regardless of the firm) encourages productivity growth by incentivising businesses to make productivity-enhancing investments and weeds out inefficient firms. Generous unemployment benefits and active labour market policies increase the flexibility of workers, and in turn improve the quality of labour allocation. High levels of investment on childcare, healthcare, education, and infrastructure not only improve quality of life and promote human happiness, but also pay for themselves in the long run. For all the rhetorical clichés on the right that emphasise the ostensible benefits of laissez-faire capitalism for economic growth and individual choice, that can't be farther from the truth. As economist Mike Konczal recently said,
[t]hat neoliberalism has cornered owning growth, innovation, dynamism and competition in the popular imagination while ruling an era of slow growth, productivity stagnation, and massive profits combined with weak investment is one of the all-time great political mystifications.
If the political left can get its act together and rediscover its 20th-century productivist roots, it need not remain so.
April 9, 2025
as it says on the tin; very introductionary. Didn't really extend my knowledge on the topic but still laid it out in a nice way.
April 11, 2024
Very good overview of social safety nets in the American and British contexts. I am curious if he was to write it today, if he would have a section on the universal basic income, which has been a result of public, private, and nonprofit partnerships.
May 28, 2019
This is a short but well-written introduction to the Welfare State which tracks its development from the middle ages (and earlier) right up to the present day.
A key theme explored is what a welfare state consists of. It is acknowledge that while there are a huge variety of welfare states, they consist of three main elements - benefits for the poor, social provision and economic management. Each of these are interdependent, and social provision is generally the most popular aspect, whilst economic management is the least talked about in public discourse. While provision for the poor is the most controversial, this is often because of a lack of knowledge.
Another important theme is the relationship between the welfare state and capitalism. While sometimes thought of as in conflict, these two systems rely on each other. Much needed finance is generated by capitalism which in turn supports, and gets redistributed by, the welfare state. Welfare states also humanise market capitalism and makes it sustainable in modern democratic societies. Therefore, the welfare state should be seen as essentially a method of governance.
Finally, there is an interesting tension between individualism and collectivism; traditional family structure and the dissolution of these structures made possible by the freedom a welfare state imparts upon the individual. This has meant a significant but positive change for the role of women in society.
An excellent book which contributes to understanding of society and the challenges of redistribution and decomodification.
A key theme explored is what a welfare state consists of. It is acknowledge that while there are a huge variety of welfare states, they consist of three main elements - benefits for the poor, social provision and economic management. Each of these are interdependent, and social provision is generally the most popular aspect, whilst economic management is the least talked about in public discourse. While provision for the poor is the most controversial, this is often because of a lack of knowledge.
Another important theme is the relationship between the welfare state and capitalism. While sometimes thought of as in conflict, these two systems rely on each other. Much needed finance is generated by capitalism which in turn supports, and gets redistributed by, the welfare state. Welfare states also humanise market capitalism and makes it sustainable in modern democratic societies. Therefore, the welfare state should be seen as essentially a method of governance.
Finally, there is an interesting tension between individualism and collectivism; traditional family structure and the dissolution of these structures made possible by the freedom a welfare state imparts upon the individual. This has meant a significant but positive change for the role of women in society.
An excellent book which contributes to understanding of society and the challenges of redistribution and decomodification.
November 19, 2024
The British American academic David Garland is a professor of sociology and law at New York University. In 2016, Garland published an introduction to the Welfare State: A Very Short Introduction. Garland’s book is older, but the book is still a well-done introduction to the concept of the Welfare State (Garland 109). Garland uses the conception of the Welfare State that “highlights economic management and the role that the government of the economy plays in every welfare state” (Garland 8). Garland writes this book “offers a more accurate and more illuminating characterization of the welfare state that builds on the research of historians, sociologists, and comparative social policy scholars to provide an accessible, realistic understanding” (Garland 2-3). I believe that Garland’s book fulfills his goals in this book. Garland believes that the terms of “the ‘welfare state’ as a misnomer” (Garland 3). Garland writes the concept that the general public labels as the Welfare State is “about social insurance, social rights, social provision, and the social regulation of economic action. The chief beneficiaries of these policies are not the poor but the middle class and those in employment” (Garland 3). The book is focused on the United States and the United Kingdom (Garland 59). Chapter 5 also looks at examples of the Welfare State in Sweden and Germany (Garland 59-80). I read the book on my Kindle. The book has a section entitled “References and further reading” (Garland 139-148). The book has an index. The book has illustrations, including graphs. Garland’s book is a thoughtful, older, short introductory overview of the Welfare State.
January 24, 2022
The Welfare State : A Very Short Introduction (2016) by David Garland gives a sociologists overview of the Welfare State. Garland is a professor of Law and Sociology at NYU.
The Welfare State is a remarkable change in the way human societies are run. Now, in almost all advanced democracies the government spends at least 30% of GDP every year when all levels of state and federal spending are combined and of that over 50% is spent on wealth transfer and health.
The book gives a sociologists view of how the welfare state started from military pensions after the US Civil War and in Germany under Bismarck. The change from older systems of poor houses is also remarked on.
The book has an overview of the Swedish, US and UK welfare systems. There is also a chapter on how ‘neoliberals’ impacted the welfare state from the 1980s and onwards. There is little on different standards of poverty, absolute or relative and how the welfare state changes these. Also there is little on the long term financial sustainability of the welfare state.
The book is adequate but disappointing. It would have been better to get an economist to write the book rather than a sociologist to provide more of a numerical overview. There are some outright economic errors in the book. The statement ‘In a historic reversal of priorities, control of inflation replaced full employment as the primary economic objective’ is just wrong. Economic growth is the main objective of Keynesian and post Keynesian economics. Still the book is well written and a decent introduction.
The Welfare State is a remarkable change in the way human societies are run. Now, in almost all advanced democracies the government spends at least 30% of GDP every year when all levels of state and federal spending are combined and of that over 50% is spent on wealth transfer and health.
The book gives a sociologists view of how the welfare state started from military pensions after the US Civil War and in Germany under Bismarck. The change from older systems of poor houses is also remarked on.
The book has an overview of the Swedish, US and UK welfare systems. There is also a chapter on how ‘neoliberals’ impacted the welfare state from the 1980s and onwards. There is little on different standards of poverty, absolute or relative and how the welfare state changes these. Also there is little on the long term financial sustainability of the welfare state.
The book is adequate but disappointing. It would have been better to get an economist to write the book rather than a sociologist to provide more of a numerical overview. There are some outright economic errors in the book. The statement ‘In a historic reversal of priorities, control of inflation replaced full employment as the primary economic objective’ is just wrong. Economic growth is the main objective of Keynesian and post Keynesian economics. Still the book is well written and a decent introduction.
July 21, 2021
This is a solid overview of the history of the welfare state, although since his definition of welfare state encompasses not just welfare as in assistance to the poor but welfare as in general economic management by the state, his history of the welfare state ends up being something like general a history of the economies of the western world since early modern times, focusing on industrial and post industrial development. It's pretty impressive the amount of information he managed to fit into a book that small.
However there were some issues. He barely talked about race, except for a throwaway line about how smaller more homogenous countries have more developed and functional welfare states and that immigration might affect this in the future. He also didn't really talk about welfare states outside of western Europe and the United States and Canada. I would've like more discussion of the sorts of welfare that are enacted in revolutionary socialist countries as well as fascist ones. He briefly alludes to the fact that there are welfare states pretty different from the ones he's talking about, but does not go in depth about them. It seems pretty of not to talk about socialist welfare politics, given that for a little while something like 1/3 of the world lived until socialist states.
He did talk more about the gender politics of welfare than I was initially expecting, which was appreciated.
However there were some issues. He barely talked about race, except for a throwaway line about how smaller more homogenous countries have more developed and functional welfare states and that immigration might affect this in the future. He also didn't really talk about welfare states outside of western Europe and the United States and Canada. I would've like more discussion of the sorts of welfare that are enacted in revolutionary socialist countries as well as fascist ones. He briefly alludes to the fact that there are welfare states pretty different from the ones he's talking about, but does not go in depth about them. It seems pretty of not to talk about socialist welfare politics, given that for a little while something like 1/3 of the world lived until socialist states.
He did talk more about the gender politics of welfare than I was initially expecting, which was appreciated.
December 2, 2017
A pithy, insightful introduction to welfare states--those institutional arrangements in industrial and post-industrial societies that provide for human wellbeing, thereby ameliorating some of the inherent inequalities of market capitalism. Garland indicates that contemporary welfare states are comprised of non-contributory, means-tested social assistance programs for the poorest of the poor, contributory social insurance programs, the hallmark of the welfare state, and economic management that limits inflation and lays the groundwork for full employment. Welfare states may be market-based, as in the U.S., conservative, as in Germany, or social democratic, as in the Nordic states. Irrespective of their orientation, they are all guided by the same postwar consensus: government must "protect the great mass of working people against the social and economic hazards of unrestrained capitalism."
May 30, 2022
The author warns that this book will use primarily the English and American welfare States to exemplify the Welfare state process and on some occasions will recur other welfare states. Yet, I have not read something so ethnocentric in my life. The book's title is wrong. It should not be called "the welfare state: a very short introduction" but "the English and American Welfare State:...".
The majority of the book is about how English and Americans developed their welfare state, literally. The author explains the politics, and history of that event; nevertheless, if you are interested in learning how are the real welfare state process, namely, the economy and political economy, this ends up boring.
Even though the author explains the different conceptions of the welfare state and its politics, it is as well about the American and English ones. I recommend this therefore for people who are interested only in the Anglosax Welfare States, otherwise, I consider it useless.
The majority of the book is about how English and Americans developed their welfare state, literally. The author explains the politics, and history of that event; nevertheless, if you are interested in learning how are the real welfare state process, namely, the economy and political economy, this ends up boring.
Even though the author explains the different conceptions of the welfare state and its politics, it is as well about the American and English ones. I recommend this therefore for people who are interested only in the Anglosax Welfare States, otherwise, I consider it useless.
April 10, 2019
An overview of the welfare state that manages to be simultaneously both concise and magisterial. Includes a good deal of material relating to the history of the welfare state, social insurance and poor relief; the changes that have affected it over the last 30-40 years in particular; comparative analyses (with a largely favourable view of the Nordic model, and for good reason); and an assessment of the modern-day welfare state as it faces the demographic, socio-economic and technological challenges of the future. It reminds us why all capitalist democracies need a strong welfare state, and why we all universally benefit from it. Let's nurture it, not destroy it. Thoroughly recommended.
March 19, 2021
The author presented very compelling arguments for the welfare state. However, he couldn't resist his lefitist urge to call the more market oriented economies as "regressive". Unfortunately, ideology prevails in this book
May 29, 2023
An excellent introduction to the welfare state across time and place. The writing is easily digestible and it’s short enough to read in one sitting.
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September 8, 2022Very interesting introduction to the welfare state and its history, its varieties and challenges. This book deserves 5 stars because it not only offers an excellent description of, but also ends with a solid argument in defence of the 'indispensable' welfare state. I look forward to reading more of Garland's work.
March 22, 2017
This VSI, despite its short length, is actually quite dense. But Garland has a knack for lucidly presenting difficult ideas and seamlessly moving from the development of the welfare state in the past to presenting the challenges it faces today.
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