Contradictions of the Welfare State

Front Cover
Routledge, Jul 20, 2018 - Social Science - 312 pages

Originally published in 1984, Contradictions of the Welfare State is the first collection of Claus Offe’s essays to appear in a single volume in English. The political writings in this volume are primarily concerned with the origins of the present difficulties of welfare capitalist states, and he indicates why in the present period, these states are no longer capable of fully managing the socio-political problems and conflicts generated by late capitalist societies. Offe discusses the viability of New Right, corporatist and democratic socialist proposals for restructuring the welfare state. He also offers fresh and penetrating insights into a range of other subjects, including social movements, political parties, law, social policy, and labour markets.

 

Contents

List of figures
Introduction
elements of a political crisis
the renaissance of conservative
Social policy and the theory of the state
Theses on the theory of the state
Legitimacy versus efficiency
The separation of form and content in liberal democracy
Competitive party democracy and the Keynesian welfare
Political culture and Social Democratic administration
Alternative strategies in consumer policy
European socialism and the role of the state
Reflections on the welfare state and the future
Index

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