Originally published in 1976, Freedom and the Welfare State, critiques the Welfare State in Britain and analyses the relationship between freedom and welfare. The book considers philosophical, literary and political expressions of the ideals of liberty, and relates them to present-day issues in social policy and the social services. It tackles the major questions emerging in the current welfare debate such as, does state assistance destroy individual initiative and independence and, are welfare institutions agencies of social control which reinforce the dominant economic order?
Acknowledgements
1. Three Traditions
Part I: Freedom
2. Liberty and Liberation
3. The True Nature of ‘the Social Being’
4. ‘Alternative Realities’
5. Freedom and Social Control
6. ‘Perfect Respectfulness’ and ‘Painful Nearness’
7. The Ethics of Intervention
Part II: Intervention
8. Flattery and Dumb Service
9. The Origins of Social Engineering
10. Two Concepts of Welfare
11. Punishment, Treatment and Control
12. Citizenship and Social Work
Part III: A Welfare Society
13. Family – Support or Suppression?
14. Work: An Essential Characteristic of Man?
15. ‘A Decent and Secure Life’
Notes
Biography
Bill Jordan