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The Welfare State We're in
 
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The Welfare State We're in (Paperback)

by James Bartholomew (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
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Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize-winning economist
A splendid book. A devastating critique of the welfare state. A page-turner, yet also extensively sourced. I congratulate Mr Bartholomew. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Synopsis
The founding of the welfare state in the 1940s was one of the crowning achievements of modern British history - or was it? In this robustly argued book James Bartholomew advances the hitherto sacrilegious argument that however well-meaning its founders, the welfare state has in reality done more harm than good: Do welfare benefits cause unemployment? How the NHS fails to deliver? Can state education ever be properly reformed? Does broken parenting matter? Is a low state pension better than none, and who pays for it? 'The welfare state has caused tens of thousands of people to live deprived and even depraved lives, and has undermined the very decency and kindness which first inspired it. Evidence will be brought forward to show that it has resulted in a generation of badly educated people...The thesis of this book is that Britain would have been better off without the welfare state.'

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Customer Reviews

28 Reviews
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58 of 70 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars pragmatic anaysis of the modern welfare state, 23 Nov 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: The Welfare State We're In (Hardcover)
A good analysis of the history of welfare in Britain and it's effects on society that isn't blinded by abstract socialist ideology and dogma, but rather takes a very pragmatic look at the successes and failures of welfare over the past few hundred years.
What makes this book particularly interesting is that the modern welfare state is put into historical perspective, as the author himself points out: few people today are familiar with what came before the post-WWII welfare state. Also good is the comparison of the performance of our modern welfare state with other European nations which have traditionally been considered more socialist than Britain, but which it turns out have far more mixed systems than pure state-run Britain.
This book might not be liked by those with grand ideological pretensions as the language is purely pragmatic rather than abstract.
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75 of 92 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A devastatingly powerful book, 7 Nov 2004
This review is from: The Welfare State We're In (Hardcover)
This is not a dry sociological study. Page by compelling page Mr Bartholomew shows that the welfare state has been a disaster for Britain. The well-meaning welfare programmes of the government have impoverished, criminalized, demoralized and yes, even killed through neglect and incompetence those who are most vulnerable in our society. This book will help to shift the terms of the political debate. Anecdotes, illustrations and statistical evidence reinforce one another chapter after chapter and make for compulsive and fascinating reading. A striking aspect of this book is that the author shows that many of the issues were correctly diagnosed and addressed by the great nineteenth century social reformers, only to have their basic lessons disregarded or forgotten in the twentieth century. Truly those who are ignorant of history are condemned to repeat it. Importantly, Mr Bartholomew does not merely criticize the welfare state, he persuasively shows that Britain was once and could be again a dynamic compassionate and civil society sustained by and reinforcing a healthy morality in the private sector. The government is the problem, not the solution. The evidence is all here, clearly laid out. Press this book into the hands of every civil servant, teacher and doctor you know.
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45 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Slaves of the welfare state, 31 Oct 2004
By T. Burkard (Norwich, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Welfare State We're In (Hardcover)
Review-The Welfare State We're In

by James Bartholomew

The welfare state has been the sacred cow of British politics since the Beveridge 'reforms' were instituted by the Attlee Government at the end of the war. Although almost everyone concedes that the welfare state isn't working, most people think it just needs a thorough overhaul. This book could well shift the terms of the debate.

Bartholomew has done his homework thoroughly. He offers convincing evidence that before the first war, friendly societies and voluntary organisations provided a surprisingly effective safety-net for the working man. Starting in 1911 and even before, all these self-help measures were gradually swept away by the state-which taxed everyone, especially the working man-to pay for state-funded welfare. The extent to which this has degraded the poor is symbolised by the typical social security office, where the chairs are bolted to the floor, and officials hide behind shatterproof glass screens.

This book is as lucidly written as it is well-researched. Bartholomew offers compelling evidence that state services, including welfare, education, health, police and pensions are all in utter shambles. No one will be able to read this book and still believe that "the gentleman in Whitehall really does know best".

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A shocking indictment of the execution of a compassionate vision
For those of us unfamiliar with the history of social provision before the Welfare State, or the long catalogue of attempts to reform it, this is a valuable resource. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Mr. S. J. Baker

1.0 out of 5 stars cannot criticise this harshly enough....
Having seen how this book polarised opinion, and interested by its synopsis, I purchased this book. I would have given it zero stars if that was possible. Read more
Published 11 months ago by J. Andrews

1.0 out of 5 stars Wow!
I think this is literally the worst book i have ever read. This is no hyperbole; its poorly written (as if for a 6 year old with nice exciting pictures) and just unashamedly... Read more
Published 14 months ago by J. R. Davies

5.0 out of 5 stars Poor? Or just working the system?
The author has a central premise: the poor and the vulnerable have always been catered for, it's just that it never used to be the state, and by extension, the tax payer, who had... Read more
Published 15 months ago by M. McManus

3.0 out of 5 stars Please stop this useless politicing
Left and right, up or down. Dualisms only really create deeper trenches. I accept that many feel the welfare state is wrong/right/necessary/evil or any combination therein but i... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Mr. B. Odams

5.0 out of 5 stars Human behaviour is dictated by incentives
One of the most interesting and convincing books I've ever read - pulls together many of the observations that I'd made for myself about why society today is far worse of socially... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Houston

5.0 out of 5 stars Prepare to be astonished
A totalling compelling look at how the unimaginable has happened.

The issues raised affect every one of us. Read more
Published 22 months ago by C. M. Smith

5.0 out of 5 stars A great historical analysis of a capital failure in social policy
Any criticism of this book is based on whining socialist sentimentality, rather than balanced opinion. Read more
Published on 24 Jun 2007 by Tom Hughes

5.0 out of 5 stars Relentless condemnation of the obvious decline in our society
This book considers each aspect of modern big government - state schooling, the NHS, state pensions, council housing as well as the welfare state itself - benefit handouts that... Read more
Published on 20 May 2007 by Welfare Status

4.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating analysis of a great failed experiment.
The introductory historical background section is worth the price of the book on its own. Bartholomew's account ot the 1830 poor law commission opened my eyes to the fact that we... Read more
Published on 14 Dec 2006 by Post enlightenment

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