The Welfare State We're in [Paperback]

I bought this book along with Dalrympole's Life at the Bottom, and Magnet's The Dream and the Nightmare: the legacy of the nineteen sixties. Together they provided a necessary antedote to the tiresome, Marxist/feminist drivel passed off as rational social science in my university course. As with Dalrympole's view, Bartholomew argues convincingly that the welfare state has not only impoverished peoples' lives but controlled them. I am not sure if society would be better off without some form of state welfare, it certainly would benefit with reduced 'nanny state' levels that it has reached today. The 1946 National Insurance Act which enacted the Beveridge Report of 1942 was able to survive as it did thanks in large part to the UK's slice of Marshall Aid. The economic boom of the 1950s ensured full employment and a strong economic growth and industrial output. By the time the economic bubble finally burst in 1976, thanks to the oil crisis, the welfare state had become an uncontrollable monster, and was simply economically unsustainable. Thatcher tried to downsize it but expendature on welfare rose throughout her terms of office and beyond. Welfare has become so ingrained in society that talk of immigration is linked to their right to welfare rather than employment. Bartholomew injects must needed common sense into the debate on welfare. It's no surprise that the university material makes no referrence to his book, then again, the ideology of the course writers reflects the controlling ideology underpinning the welfare state that Bartholomew opposes. Another book I commend is Unlocking Carol's Smile (Trafford Publishing) which, although a novel, is a common sense approach to homeless issues. The writer draws on his experience working in the field to bring the characters and their conflicts to life. The central character is disillusioned with left wing politics, impulsive, emotionally intense to the point that he is involved in an unlikely relationship with a homeless woman. At this level, the relationship challenges a taboo within social services. So there we are, four books that serve not only to enlighten and help one articulate common sense arguments against Marxist/feminist inspired social constructionism,they are well written page turners.

Despite our great wealth, depression, anxiety, anger disorders and addictions are increasing dramatically in this country and the source of much of this can be traced to the type of society politicians have created over the last 100 years: the Welfare State. Bartholomew shows how this happened and why, despite the good intentions of most of those individuals responsible for it, it is not good for us. Indeed it has proved to be a social disaster.

Despite what some reviewers have said I did not find this to be "a right wing" analysis at all. It is honest and heartfelt and apolitical, written by a man who used to assume, like most of us, that the Welfare State ideal was "a good thing".

If you take the trouble to read it, no hardship since it is so well written and full of a huge number of riveting real-life stories, it will revitalise your understanding of why governments of the last 50 years have made such a mess of this country: even if they didn't mean to. Nature did not design the human brain to become addicted to having 'the State' solve all our problems for us. To go against how Nature designed us to operate - which is that we must stretch ourselves to solve problems individually and thereby survive in the world - is making us very sickly indeed.

Anyone with a clear head can learn from this book.

This book simply sets out to explain what we all know from personal experience. Every element of the British welfare state is in perpetual crisis. It is third rate compared with services in most other `advanced' countries.

The hospital my father died in was chaotic. The doctors could never be found, and when they arrived, couldn't speak the language well enough to communicate with the patients. The nurses were little better. The only British people were those that cleaned the toilets and the windows - very poorly. My only attempt to see a NHS specialist took 18 months. The last NHS dentist in my area closed last year. The NHS local hospital is in debt and under threat of closure. Is this utopia? The situation is so bad that it demands an explanation.

Are the people bad? Is there insufficient money? No, to both. The concept of the NHS provides the wrong incentives. Coupled with other failings - conveniently grouped under the `welfare state' - this drives the system to mediocrity. Much the same can be said about education, welfare and crime.

The book isn't perfect; the objection that it is poorly sourced has some justification. But it is a petty objection. This is not intended to be an academic tome that allows you to consult the journal references detailing with excess deaths in NHS hospitals. It is supposed to be accessible - and it is.

Unfortunately, so many people now rely on out corrupt system for their job or their money that changing it will be hard. They are mostly in denial, preferring to see the education of generations blighted and thousands die unnecessarily rather than confront their simple prejudices. Read the book, by all means research further to check its validity, and start thinking what you can do about it.