The State of Welfare

The period after 1945 saw the rapid growth of social welfare in western democracies, but in the late 1960s the global economy began to falter, followed by the oil crisis of 19731974. This book explores the trajectories of welfare state change over this crucial period, bringing together a range of case studies at both country and provincial level.

The period after 1945 saw a rapid growth in social welfare, with the state taking on increasing responsibility for pensions, health care, unemployment relief and income support. In Western democracies economic growth underpinned state investment and was reinforced by demands from the new social movements of the 1960s. Just as the clamour for reformism reached a crescendo in the late 1960s, the global economy began to falter, culminating in the oil crisis of 19731974.

This volume explores the factors that shaped the trajectories of welfare state change over this crucial period. A close analysis of countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom reveals signs of a broader shift towards the decline of government spending and the first tentative moves towards a nascent neoliberalism. Other countries, such as Sweden and West Germany, remained comparatively untouched by the economic crisis and even sought to reinforce their welfare state in response to it. Ireland and Northern Ireland also showed little evidence of these changes, isolated as they were by complex political and religious factors. This book brings together a range of case studies at both country and provincial level in order to build up a more complex and nuanced picture of the welfare state in the 1960s and 1970s.

Autorentext

Erik Eklund holds a chair in Australian History at Federation University, Australia, where he is Director of the Centre for Gippsland Studies. He is interested in labour history and regional history, including industrial heritage, social policy history, oral history and memory, and comparative regional histories. Melanie Oppenheimer holds the Chair of History at Flinders University, South Australia. Her research interests include the role of voluntary organizations and patriotic funds in times of peace and war, the history of volunteering and voluntary action, and gender and imperialism. Joanne Scott is Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Business and Law and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Engagement) at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. She has published on Australian and Queensland history, labour history, gender and race relations, oral history, popular culture and higher education.

Inhalt
CONTENTS: Erik Eklund/Melanie Oppenheimer/Joanne Scott: The Welfare State at the End of the Long Boom, 19651980: Themes and Issues Hugh Pemberton: UK Pensions: The Making and Breaking of a Welfare Consensus Stuart C. Aveyard: «Soup kitchens disguised as factories»? Employment Policy and the Irrelevance of Neoliberalism in Northern Ireland Fiona Dukelow: «Some sort of super welfare state»? The «Rediscovery» of Poverty and Irish Welfare State Change in the 1970s Joanne Scott/Melanie Oppenheimer/Erik Eklund: A «program of such potential»: The Australian Assistance Plan Linda Bryder: «Money in itself does not equate with welfare»: Ideas around the Welfare State in 1970s New Zealand and Their Consequences Alvin Finkel: Social Policy in Canada, 19651980: Why First Reform and then Neoliberalism Were Constrained Nicole Kramer: Like a Solid Rock? Forces of Continuity and Silent Mutations within the Federal Republic of Germany's Welfare State Development Stephan Köppe: Sweden: What Crisis? Welfare State Expansion during the Oil Crisis Pat Thane: The Welfare State at the End of the Long Boom: Summary, Synthesis and Further Thoughts on the British Model