Abstract
We should be clear about what we mean by a ‘welfare state’. As conventionally used in the years since 1945, when it became part of our everyday vocabulary, it means a state which defines as an essential part of its role the maintenance of a reasonable standard of life for all its citizens. The state may seek to achieve this broad goal by a variety of means including provision of cash benefits and/or services, tax relief under the fiscal system, and the regulation of the labour market. Indeed, a high proportion of the activities of the modern state has some welfare content.
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References and Further Reading
M. E. Rose, The Relief of Poverty 1834–1914 (London, second edn, 1986).
M. A. Crowther, Social Policy in Britain, 1914–39 (London, 1988).
B. B. Gilbert, The Evolution of National Insurance in Great Britain (London, 1960).
J. M. Winter, The Great War and the British People (London, 1985).
C. Webster, ‘Health, Welfare and Unemployment during the Depression’, Past and Present, 109 (1985).
P. Townsend, Poverty in the United Kingdom (Harmondsworth, 1979).
A. Digby, British Welfare Policy: Workhouse to Workforce (Faber, 1989).
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Thane, P. (1989). The British Welfare State: Its Origins and Character. In: Digby, A., Feinstein, C. (eds) New Directions in Economic and Social History. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-20315-4_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-20315-4_12
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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