POL S 354 Welfare States in Comparison

1
POL S 354 Welfare States in Comparison

• Lecture 5 Liberal regimes part 2 The United
  Kingdom

2
Research Paper

• Your paper should have a defined introduction,
  body and conclusion. Let the reader know what
  the structure of your paper will be in the
  introduction.
• Make sure you have an explicit argument that is
  clear in the introduction.
• Use properly formatted paragraphs, beginning with
  a topic sentence.
• Your argument should act as a backbone that runs
  through the whole paper.
• Commentary should be analytical, meaning you
  dont just describe, but also critically
  interpret.

3

• Research is always a hit-and-miss process. You
  can expect to read things that will not be
  relevant to your argument. Dont include them
  simply because you read them.
• You will be marked according on the following
  criteria
• Coherence of the argument and narrative.
• Evidence of understanding of concepts.
• Comprehensiveness of research.
• Appropriate use of supporting evidence.
• Evidence of independent analytical thinking.

4
Lecture outline

• The Poor Laws and the rise of state paternalism
• World War Two and welfare liberalism
• The Welfare State
• Thatchers revolution
• New Labour and the New Deals

5
Introduction

• Britain is often regarded as the birthplace of
  the welfare state.
• The Beveridgian model of social protection is
  at variance with aspects of Esping-Andersens
  Liberal regime.
• British social policy highlights some of the
  pitfalls of liberal universalism.
• British welfare has become more conditional and
  employment-oriented in recent years.

6
The Poor Laws and the rise of state paternalism

• Elizabethan Poor Law role of parishes, sturdy
  and less-sturdy beggars
• C19th Britain laissez-faire, freedom of contract
• 1834 Poor Law
• Deserving and undeserving poor
• Outdoor vs. indoor relief the workhouse
• The principle of less eligibility
• Factory Acts
• Social reformers and the social problem
• The problem of the unemployed vs. the problem of
  unemployment (Walters)

7

• Workers mutual societies
• 1908 State Pensions
• 1911 Unemployment insurance, National Health
• 1925 Widows, Orphans and Old Age Insurance
• The state operated in cooperation with voluntary
  sectors a mixed economy of welfare
• Depression 1930s loss of faith in laissez faire,
  failure of unemployment insurance

8
2. World War Two and the rise of welfare
liberalism

• Two key players in the rise of the British
  welfare state John Maynard Keynes and William
  Beveridge
• Keynes General Theory of Employment (1936)
• Dispels the notion that modern industrial
  economies tend towards equilibrium free market
  economies can spiral into depression
• People can save excessively, dampening demand for
  goods, which in turn reduces production,
  employment and income
• The state should inject money into a slow or
  slowing economy in order to increase aggregate
  demand and promote a sense of security and
  optimism

9
The Beveridge report

• 1942 an attempt to plan for the future, winning
  the peace
• Slaying the five giants disease, idleness,
  ignorance, squalor, want
• Full employment
• Public health, family allowance, flat rate
  insurance
• National assistance
• Growing size and power of the state in the war
  economy, outcome of war as a triumph of British
  values and planning

10
(No Transcript)
11
3. The Welfare State

• The Labour Party and New Jerusalem
• The post war consensus Keynesian
• Clement Attlees Labour Government 1945-51
• The 1944 Butler Act universal free schooling
• Commitment to full employment
• The 1945 Family Allowance Act
• The 1946 National Insurance Act
• The 1948 National Health Act created the
  National Health Service (NHS)
• 1960s Poverty, welfare rights, social
  administration
• 1975 earnings-related supplement for state
  pension

12
Criticisms of the British welfare state

• Inadequacies of national insurance
• Maternalism, reliance on unpaid domestic labour
• Residualism
• Nationalist, racist underpinnings
• Universalism uniformity
• 1970s Community care and the de-institutionalizat
  ion movement
• Excessive administrative and professional power

13
4. Thatchers revolution

• Blend of neo-liberalism and conservatism free
  market and the strong state
• There is no such thing as society
• Welfare undermines self-reliance
• Deep mistrust of the civil service, local
  government, social and welfare professionals
• Privatization public enterprises, public housing
• Declining value of benefits
• Activity requirements for the unemployed Job
  Seekers Allowance 1996

14
5. New Labour and the New Deals

• New Labours Third Way no rights without
  responsibilities (Giddens)
• The states role is to enhance opportunities and
  help citizens to cope with risk, not to guarantee
  their welfare
• Concern about levels of social exclusion and
  welfare dependency, the growing caseloads on
  passive benefits (lone parents, persons with
  disabilities)
• The New Deals welfare to work initiatives for
  different groups

15

• Compuslory New Deal for Young People (NDYP)
  largest program in terms of s New Deal for the
  Long Term Unemployed (NDLTU)
• New Deal for Lone Parents, persons with
  disabilities planning interviews low
  participation rates
• Personal advisors the intensive gateway

16

• Central importance of individualized service for
  program success
• Focus on short term employment outcomes, not long
  term human capital a work first strategy
  (Evans, Millar)
• Resources are devoted to the most employable,
  less for those who cannot work

17
Labours pensions agenda

• The pensions crisis aging of the population
• Need for increased flexibility in occupational
  pensions
• Stakeholder pensions
• Pensions Green Paper concerns about under
  provision, proposing longer working life
• Simplicity, Security and Choice an attempt to
  help individuals to plan for their retirement

18
Next Weeks Readings

• Harris (2001)
• Department of Family and Community Services
  (2002)

19
Questions for discussion

• How does the Beveridgian model depart from
  liberal social policy?
• In what ways was the British welfare state
  founded on racism?
• Outline and comment on the key criticisms of
  British post-war social policy.
• Critically appraise the Blair governments third
  way approach to social policy.

20
Simplicity, Security and Choice (2004)

• Why does the report claim that occupational
  pensions should be more flexible?
• Why is the report concerned about individuals who
  make no choice in relation to occupational
  pensions?
• Who is at risk of under-providing for their
  retirement, and what is the significance of the
  use of the concept of risk in the report?
• Critically evaluate point 8 on page 5.