Crises of the welfare state, resilience, and pessimism of the intellect

Kevin Farnsworth; Zoe Margaret Irving

doi:10.1111/spol.12996

Crises of the welfare state, resilience, and pessimism of the intellect

Kevin Farnsworth, Zoe Margaret Irving^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Social Policy and Social Work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The crises faced by welfare states have now endured for significantly longer than the counter-period of stability, calm and cooperation between the 1940s and 1970s. Systemic crisis of welfare states tied to the contradictions of capitalism, and the exogenous crises for the welfare state that have afflicted its expansion have, however, been met by faith in its resilience evidenced in its economic functions and popularity. We question the basis for optimism by examining the ‘state of the welfare state’ in the context of the social goals envisaged in the 1940s and the extent to which these are evidenced in contemporary social policy arrangements. We present a case for more ‘pessimism of the intellect’ in assessing welfare futures to better underpin welfare state scholars’ tendency towards ‘optimism of the will’.

Original language	English
Number of pages	16
Journal	Social Policy and Administration
Early online date	9 Jan 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12996
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 9 Jan 2024

Bibliographical note

Keywords

resilience
welfare state crisis
welfare pessimism

Access to Document

10.1111/spol.12996Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Soc Policy Adm - 2024 - Farnsworth - Crises of the welfare state resilience and pessimism of the intellect
© 2024 The Authors.
Final published version, 1.19 MBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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