The problem of welfare: Is there a welfare civilization?

Abstract

Abstract Welfare policy is at present increasingly tied both to market forces and to primary social networks. This process splits society into two camps. One‐fifth of the population is segregated from the rest in its dependence on the welfare system, which is in turn dependent on a diminishing portion of the economy and required to rationalize itself in terms of market forces. Meanwhile, the welfare system is making an effort to minimize its social cost by decentralization and by utilizing community ties and lifestyles rather than relying on the professional welfare bureaucracy. This process tends to combine modern forms of production with the meanings and values of traditional society. It may be described as the change from a “welfare society” to a “welfare civilization”.