The Foundations of the Welfare State (Elgar Mini Series)

This three-volume compendium reproduces all the key texts on the welfare state - its rise and fall, its varying rationales and instrumentalities, its different forms in different periods and different places. Political history and social theory are interspersed with sociology and economics, and neo-liberal analyses sit alongside socialist and feminist ones, making for an invigorating blend of opposing perspectives. Anglo-American experiences are contrasted not just with those of Germany and Scandinavia but also with Japan and Taiwan, Italy and Hungary, Australia and South Asia, thus highlighting the many distinct styles of welfare states and the distinctive social, economic, political and cultural forces driving them. The juxtaposition of all the standard texts alongside many others which are deeply revealing but virtually unknown makes this an indispensable reference source for all serious students of the welfare state.