Political Economy of the Welfare State

# Sinopse

As a form of ideological investigation the concept of the welfare state has played a significant role in post-war Britain. Yet the debate between the major political parties has, on the whole, reflected an attachment to Keynesian economics and to the welfare consensus which characterises the activities of advanced capitalists. This book seeks to be an important framework for the analysis of the welfare state.

In it, Ian Gough analyses the interdependence of welfare policies and the capitalist economic system. He provides a detailed analysis of social expenditure and its very real constraint within capitalist accumulation. The author argues that the development of the welfare state reflects the changing needs of the capitalist economy. In particular, he argues that the development of the welfare state reflects the changing needs of the capitalist economy and simultaneously threatening both capitalist accumulation and its political basis.

The book provides the basis of a critical analysis of the welfare state which is not grounded on the traditional dichotomies of socialism and capitalism, and which analyses its development radically as a feature of the modern state.

This book is part of the series Critical Texts in Social Work and the Welfare State, edited by Peter Leonard.