The Price of Citizenship: Redefining the American Welfare State

Abstract

From earliest poor laws to the of welfare as we know it, definitive examination of question underlying all political debate in America: What does government owe individual? In The Price of Citizenship, culmination of twenty years of research and writing, historian Michael B. Katz traces evolution of welfare state from colonial relief programs to war on poverty to our own age of compassionate conservatism. He argues that in last decades three great forces -- a ferocious assault on depence; devolution of authority from federal government to states; and application of market models to social policy -- have affected every element of social contract and redefined both Republican and Democratic policy and rhetoric. Katz shows how these changes are propelling America toward a future of increased inequality and decreased security, while transforming citizenship from a right of birth to a privilege available only to fully employed. A magisterial overview, incisive and bold, The Price of Citizenship is sure to become a classic history of American welfare policy.