Perspectives on Welfare

by Deacon

Overview

An introduction to the current debates about the future direction of welfare reform on both sides of the Atlantic. The first part outlines a range of different perspectives on welfare, and shows how each of these perspectives rests upon a different assumption about the role and purpose of welfare policy and a different understanding of human nature and motivation. Some of these perspectives see the primary role of welfare as to reduce inequalities, while others see the central objective as the reduction of welfare dependency. The second part shows how the current debates in Britain and the United States are informed by these perspectives, and argues that debates about inequality and dependency are not mutually exclusive but address different dimensions of the same problem. In all, this text should be valuable reading for courses in social policy, health, and social welfare, as well as those with a political and wider interest in welfare reform.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780335203208
Publisher:	Open University Press
Publication date:	03/01/2002
Series:	Introducing Social Policy (Paperback)
Pages:	174
Product dimensions:	6.36(w) x 9.32(h) x 0.44(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Alan Deacon is Professor of Social Policy and a member of the ESRC Research Group on Care, Values and the Future of Welfare at the University of Leeds. He has written widely on the debate about welfare reform in Britain and the United States and is a former editor of the Journal of Social Policy. He is Chair of the Social Policy Association 2001-2004.

Table of Contents

Series editor's foreword
Acknowledgements
List of abbreviations
Introduction

Part one

Welfare and equality
Welfare and self interest
Welfare and paternalism
Welfare and obligation
Welfare as temporary support

Part two

Ending dependency? welfare reform in the United States
A new deal for welfare? New Labour and the reform of welfare in Britain
Conclusion
Glossary
Bibliography
Index.

Editorial Reviews

This introduction to the current debates about welfare reform in Britain and the U.S. centers on the premise that these debates reflect conflicting views of what constitutes a good society and what role welfare can play in bringing such a society into being. Deacon (social policy, University of Leeds) outlines five perspectives on welfare<-->altruism, pursuit of self-interest, exercise of authority, transition to work, and moral regeneration<-->then describes the new policies legislated during the 1990s in both countries. Distributed by Taylor & Francis. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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