Birth of the welfare state
It was not until after the Second World War that the British Welfare state took its mature
form. In a climate of relief after the war, a climate diffused with an idealism for a new, more
just society, welfare legislation had bipartisan support. There was a clear sense of rebuilding
a better Britain.
Bryson's words, from 1992's Welfare and the State - Who Benefits?, had the benefit of
a half-century of hindsight to sum up some of the key themes of the period. There is
certainly some truth in the argument that the welfare measures that were introduced in
the years from 1945 to 1950 had a rather longer history.
The period before the war had seen long-running debates about the lack of co-
ordination of hospital services. There was concern to learn from and develop the
existing experience of a health insurance scheme for medical treatment for some of
the population. And there were criticisms of the legacies of the Poor Law - the
indignities of means-tested payments for those in poverty and the fear among the old
and impoverished of ending life in the workhouse.
But the Labour government's landslide victory in 1945 (not quite as big as that in the
1997 election) was still very much about creating a new deal for 'the boys back from
the front', giving them a sense that their country had been worth fighting for and
would support and care for them in peacetime by offering them and their families the
opportunity for jobs, homes, education, health and a standard of living of which they
could be proud.
Welfare state, concept of government in which the state or a well-established
network of social institutions plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the
economic and social well-being of citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of
opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those
unable to avail themselves of the minimal provisions for a good life. The general term
may cover a variety of forms of economic and social organization.
A fundamental feature of the welfare state is social insurance, a provision common to
most advanced industrialized countries (e.g., National Insurance in the United
Kingdom and Social Security in the United States). Such insurance is usually financed
by compulsory contributions and is intended to provide benefits to persons and
families during periods of greatest need. It is widely recognized, however, that in
practice the cash benefits fall considerably short of the levels intended by the
designers of the plans.
The welfare state also usually includes public provision of basic education, health
services, and housing (in some cases at low cost or without charge). In these respects
the welfare state is considerably more extensive in western European countries than in
the United States, featuring in many cases comprehensive health coverage and
provision of state-subsidized tertiary education.
Antipoverty programs and the system of personal taxation may also be regarded as
aspects of the welfare state. Personal taxation falls into this category insofar as its
progressivity is used to achieve greater justice in income distribution (rather than
merely to raise revenue) and also insofar as it used to finance social insurance
payments and other benefits not completely financed by compulsory contributions. In
socialist countries the welfare state also covers employment and administration of
consumer prices.
The modern use of the term is associated with the comprehensive measures of social
insurance adopted in 1948 by Great Britain on the basis of the report Social Insurance
and Allied Services (1942) by Sir William (later Lord) Beveridge. In the 20th century,
as the earlier concept of the passive laissez-faire state was gradually abandoned,
almost all states sought to provide at least some of the measures of social insurance
associated with the welfare state. Thus, in the United States the New Deal of Pres.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Fair Deal of Pres. Harry S. Truman, and a large part of the
domestic programs of later presidents were based on welfare state principles. In its
more-thoroughgoing form, the welfare state provides state aid for the individual in
almost all phases of life—“from the cradle to the grave”—as exemplified in the
Netherlands and the Social Democratic governments of the Scandinavian countries.
Many less-developed countries have the establishment of some form of welfare state
as their goal.
Main legislative measures of the post-war Labour government :
. 1945 Family Allowances Act
.1946 National Insurance Act
.1946 National Insurance (Industrial Injuries) Act
.1946 National Health Service Act (implemented July 1948)
.1947 Town and Country Planning Act
.1947 New Towns Act
.1948 National Assistance Act
.1948 Children Act
.1949 Housing Act
