Didier RENARD - The Three Origins of the Welfare State

Pouvoirs n°94 - L’État-providence - septembre 2000 - p.19-29

The welfare state is a generic brand name which refers to different national situations each with its distinct history. As an empirical given reality one can trace three different origins of the welfare state over the last half century : a British and programmatic origin, a comparative and retrospective origin, and a polemical and political origin. Taken together, they draw its present contours, although it is not at all sure that such a definition of welfare policies really helps clarify the public debate that surrounds them. Résumé

Référence électonique : Didier RENARD, "The Three Origins of the Welfare State", Pouvoirs, revue française d’études constitutionnelles et politiques, n°94, 2000, p.19-29. Consulté le 17-02-2012. URL : http://www.revue-pouvoirs.fr/The-Three-Origins-of-the-Welfare.html