The Welfare State福利国家.pptVIP

Study Theme 2 The Welfare State Have we abandoned its original ideals? Original Ideals Five Giant Social Evils The Thatcher Challenge New Labour and the 3rd Way Welfare to Work A Sharper Focus The Nanny State? New Social Evils? Continued Inequalities Conclusions New Labour claims to be true to the original ideals of the welfare state It claims to have “sharpened the focus” But still tackles the five giant evils Individuals have responsibilities as well as rights Role of government is to “enable” individuals to become independent of Government. * * The Original ideals of the welfare state, as outlined in the Post war Beveridge report were to provide a comprehensive system of social insurance from cradle to grave. It proposed that all working people should pay a weekly contribution to the state. In return, benefits would be paid to the unemployed, the sick, the retired and the widowed. Beveridge wanted to ensure that there was an acceptable minimum standard of living in Britain below which nobody fell. Beveridge identifies five giant social evils which the welfare state should tackle (see next slide) L-R Poverty (Want), Bad Health (Disease), Lack of education (Ignorance), Bad housing (Squalor), Unemployment (Idleness) Health care The NHS was created to offer all British citizens equal access to health care, when they needed it and without having to pay. The private sector was still allowed to operate. EducationThe pre-war education system in both Scotland and England was based on selection. This meant an exam. The “11+” was used to decide between those who went to an academic school (the ones who passed) and those who failed and went to a vocational school. Northern Ireland still has the 11+ exam. Many working class children failed the 11+ and the system was seen to be biased in favour of the middle classes. In their place came “comprehensives”. These were (and still are) “catch all” schools who accept just about all pupils within a particular local authority