Welfare(PolityKeyConceptsintheSocialSciencesseries)

`MaryDaly'slucidlywrittenbookanalysesthecoreideologicalandphilosophicaldebatesaboutwelfareandalsoexplores"welfareinpractice"-howwelfarepoliciesareactuallydeliveredthroughthedifferentmediumsofthestate,themarketandthefamily.Thisisatrulyexcellentintroductiontoacomplexandcontestedconcept,andstudentswillbenefitenormouslyfromreadingit.'---NickEllison,UniversityofLeeds`Thewelfarestateiseverywhereunderattack.Academicsrespondwithnewaccountsofhowwelfareistobeunderstoodinaworldofmigration,recession,escalatinginequality,make-work-payandvolatilefamilies.Thisbookprovidesanenergeticreviewofanexcitinganduncertainworld.'---PeterTaylor-Gooby,UniversityofKentWelfareisanimportantconceptinthesocialsciences.Itisalsochallengedandcontestednotonlybyalternativeconceptsbutalsoasapoliticalgoalinitself.Usingamulti-disciplinaryapproach,thisbooktakesafreshlookatthecontinuingrelevanceofwelfareinthecontextofpublicpolicy,recentscholarlydevelopmentsandchangesinpopularattitudesandbehaviour.Thebookconnectstheoryandpractice.Tracingtheconcept'sbackgroundineconomics,politicalscienceandsocialpolicy,thebookjuxtaposeswelfarewithnewerapproaches,suchassubjectivewell-being,capabilities,care,socialexclusionandsocialcapital.Thelinksbetweenwelfareandpoliticalideasarealsoelaborated.Thewelfarestate,asitdevelopedhistoricallyinEuropeandasitischangingindifferentcountries,isgivenanimportantplaceintheanalysis.Drawingonarangeofempiricalwork,thebookinitsfinalpartconsidershowindividualsandgroupsseektoattainwelfareandhowthisshapespeople'sdecisionsandactionsintheireverydaylives.Writteninalivelystyle,thisbookprovidesstudentsofsociology,socialpolicyandpoliticalsciencewithavaluablepointofaccesstoarangeofdebatesandthinkinginthefieldofwelfareandrelatedconcepts.