The Politics of Social Solidarity: Class Bases of the European Welfare State, 1875-1975

by Peter Baldwin

This book examines the social bases of the European welfare state, and the interests developed in or against social policy by various classes of society, during the period 1875-1975 in Britain, France, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden. By analyzing the competing concerns of different social "actors" that lie behind the evolution of social policy, it explains why some nations had an easy time in developing a generous and solidaristic welfare state while others fought long and entrenched battles. In particular, the book examines the period after the Second World War and looks in detail at the state developed by the bourgeoisie in welfare policies. By casting its net across five nations and a whole century, the book attempts to establish a broad logic of interest behind the welfare state based on a very extensive range of archival material.

Genres: History

368 pages, Paperback

First published May 29, 1990

Reviews

[Tom Robbins · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perfect read for students of social policy interesting in welfare regime variation across europe, focusing on germany, britain and scandinavian. Quite a hard read but incredibly well researched. A very in-depth and detailed account in explaining welfare development in these countries that counter mainstream theories and provide a more realist perspective. For example, it explains the solidarity of the utopian scandinavian welfare regime as being down to the fact that the agrarian demands appeased also the middle classes and elites in society. This is contrary to popular belief that it was just down to the working class efforts alone.

[Nils · Rating 5 out of 5]

Provides a complex picture of the historical emergence of the welfare state that eschews any simple story of, either, labor victoriously pushing to demand welfare state provisions (the laborist hypothesis), or of conservatives cynically attempting to defuse radical sentiments (the Bismarckian hypothesis). Rather, Baldwin emphasizes that the particular forms that welfare states take in different countries depends on a complex negotiation between different class-based interest groups, some of which simply want the welfare services (including in many cases middle class groups) and others of which are invested in promoting visions of social solidarity rooted in redistribution per se.