Welfare as a Moral Category

Abstract

Sociologists trying to account for social arrangements in the United States today must carefully consider welfare, both in itself and in its articulation with virtually all other aspects of American life and social structure. Not only is welfare extremely important today but its significance in the future will be even greater. The role of welfare is even more impressive from the wider perspective of industrial societies in general. There is reason to suppose that some form of welfare activity characterizes all such societies, perhaps amounting to a structural requisite. One might argue that certain functional requisites satisfied by various institutions in other societies can no longer be satisfied by them, because advanced industrial societies place strict limits on their operations. This line of reasoning is most familiar with regard to the family. As a result, it is argued, requisites must be met by the peculiarly modern institutions of welfare. All discussions of welfare which start from these intriguing points should refer to a conceptualization or definition of welfare which would