Classical Liberalism contributed significantly to the evolution of the concept of the welfare state. Welfare stands for the score of the social and economic policies, which are aimed at the general welfare of the people. It is the basis of the positive liberalism. It is a state that provides social services to all citizens, safeguards the interests of the weaker sections of society, and gives them economic and social security. Through the various policy measures, it seeks to remove inequality and other imbalances in society.
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Liberal Democratic Welfare State
The liberal democratic state is an evolution of positive liberalism as liberals consider the state as a means to achieve individual freedom and rights, and they do not consider the state as an end in itself. They believe that the state is for an individual not vice-versa. The Neo-liberalism led by J.S. Mill and T.H. Green is also known as the second phase of liberalism. The neo-liberals modified highly individualistic and lopsided view of equality and they think that individual interests are tied to social interests.
They believe that the individual good is possible only through the common good. Both realized that each individual had the right to equal opportunity. Green believed that individual freedom and personal development were to be attained only through society. As T.H. Green pleaded, ‘There is a work of moral liberation which society, through its various agencies, is constantly carrying for the individuals’. These liberals demanded active state interference in providing a good life to the individuals. Mill and Green emphasized the moral aspect of democracy.
The Welfare State is A Positive State
Harold Laski and John M. Keynes are the pioneers of the concept of the welfare state as they consider the state as ‘an agency to transform society for the welfare of all’. They believe in the pro-active role of the state, to ensure welfare to all. This view became popularized during the Second World War and the post-war period.
The concept of the welfare state is based on the dictum of providing maximum benefits to the maximum number of people as this concept stands for all-round intervention in the socio-economic life of society. It emphasizes on state playing an active role in public health, education, and alleviation of poverty. The state is expected to provide education to all, to ensure the active participation of people in political activities.
The welfare State is a Democratic
The neo-liberals have argued that the welfare state is a democratic state, taking a positive view of liberty and having a certain positive view of liberty and having a certain institutional apparatus for realization of the democratic values. They were of the view that the state was in such a strong position that it could promote individual liberty by making laws.
They were not for the limiting of the state functions. Their main concern was to balance the function of the state and individual liberty. They distinguish between the state and society. According to them, the society was before the state. The state has come out from the society. Hence, the state is not above the society.
Thus, the welfare state is a permanent institution of society and a neutral agency that works toward the welfare of people.