Selfish Generations?: The Ageing of New Zealand’s Welfare State

by David Thomson

'Our present welfare state has little good reason to survive much longer, and we will have to find a new basis for its continued existence.’ So writes David Thomson as he offers an unflinching perspective on how different generations have fared under the social welfare policies of governments since the 1930s.

Selfish Generations? is a critical and unsentimental analysis of a key political issue, and the questions it raises about support for the young and old, and about health, education and housing policy, are exactly those facing politicians and social welfare policy developers today.

233 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 1994

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads data base.

For the film critic, see https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Reviews

[Roy Beer · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a 49er who has spent fifty years working in the engineering trades, I had little time to consider the wider implications of the welfare state, until I retired a couple of years ago. This book has opened my eyes as to the role governments have played in shaping society. I thank you David Thomson for laying out the facts in a manner that can be understood by non academics.