Politics and the Welfare State

You need to distinguish between the two main types of welfare benefits; universal and selective.

UNIVERSAL	SELECTIVE
Universal benefits are provided to all regardless of a claimant’s financial status. One example is child benefit, which is paid out to all families with children regardless of income and wealth.	Selective benefits are provided on the basis of a claimant’s income and circumstance. An example of a selective benefit is the Child Tax Credit.

Welfare benefits and services are usually provided by the state, but an increasing range of services are also provided by the third sector, and private firms.

The STATE	The THIRD SECTOR	The PRIVATE SECTOR
The government provides both selective and universal benefits via the welfare state	The third sector consists of charities and not-for-profit organisations; such as the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust.	Private hospitals are sometimes used to treat NHS patients. The government also works with the private sector in schemes funded by the Private Finance Initiative.

There is a debate amongst sociologists over the desirability of welfare provision. Those who defend the welfare state in terms of providing basic wants and needs, and for ensuring some degree of equality within society, tend to be on the left of the political spectrum. In contrast, the main criticisms of the welfare state in recent years tend to derive from the New Right, who argue that the welfare state;

Is inefficient.
Undermines personal initiative.
Creates a culture of dependency.
Leads to high levels of taxation, which damages the economy.

The New Right has itself been criticised for blaming the poor for their own problems. However, the arguments put forward by the New Right were highly influential during the 1980s and 1990s under the Conservative governments of Mrs. Thatcher and John Major. Since Labour gained power in 1997, the influence of the New Right has declined.

You also need to be aware that since 1997 the government has provided a substantial increase in resources for the welfare state. They have also attempted to;

Encourage people to gain employment and move off welfare.
End child poverty by the year 2020.
Create a more just society where opportunities are held by the many, not the few.

The Labour party, and the Liberal Democrats; are more supportive of the welfare state. In contrast, the Conservatives are more critical of the welfare state. However in 2006 the Tories signed up to the government’s target of ending child poverty (by 2020)

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