Stakeholding — a New Paradigm in Social Policy

Abstract

In recent years welfare policy has been through turmoil. Because of large shifts in a number of key trends — demographic, socio-economic, political — immense pressure has been put on the traditional pillars of the modern welfare state, causing them to ‘crumble’ (Goodin, 2000). The outcome can today be viewed in terms of widespread inequality, poverty, unemployment, social exclusion and, perhaps most importantly, a widespread sense of insecurity in many aspects of social life, notably the labour market (Standing, 1999, 2002). In addition, there is a general feeling that traditional responses to these problems may not be up to the job. Market-based strategies have largely failed to deliver the goods: in many cases they have exacerbated the situation. At the same time the traditional Socialist solutions of corporatist and statist interventionism are often thought to be discredited (Ackerman, this volume), leaving the Left in search of new answers to old, but ever pressing questions.

We would like to thank Malcolm Torry, Will Paxton and Guy Standing for their comments on this chapter.