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Sociology Theory

It is the intention of this essay to evaluate the history and development of the british welfare state then evaluate it according to the 4 main theories surrounding it? I will begin by brifly going over the history of the welfare state and listing the main historical developments it has experienced.

The welfare state was first introduced in 1601 as a result of the first state intervention. It came in the form of the poor law this was designed to help those in poverty. The poor law was amended in 1834 known as the poor law ammendment act this meant the introduction of the workhouse system????

The next main historical development was the liberal reform this was when the liberal parties saw the need for intervention with aspects such as education, this was a direct result of the liberals coming in to power. The next and perhaps most influencial development was the the government report of 1942: the beveridge report. In this report William Beveridge identified ‘the five giant or social evils’ these consisited of want, ignorance, disease, squalor, idleness. He also suggested our society should provide care from the cradle to the grave regardless of class or income. At this time it was a radical concept.

Following this was something called the post war consensus, a time when both main political parties believed the welfare state was a good thing, this lasted until the election of Mageret Thatcher in 1979. This was important as it enabled the creation of british welfare state and the national health service.

Finally, Modernity, this is when margeret thatcher was elected into power and began to introduce the idea that briitain had become a ‘nanny state’ this meant society was relying to heavily on the state to live. This brang about the end of the post war consensus, thatcher began rolling back the welfare state by closing the workhouses and stopping benefits in the hope people would become more independent.

i will now evaluate the modern british welfare...