Politics, Regulation and the Modern Welfare State

by Jacob Torfing

This book is a theoretical analysis of the Scandinavian welfare state model in its Danish variant. Torfing (social sciences, Roskilde U., Denmark) argues that the formation and successful expansion of the modern welfare state has been due to its ability to neutralize social antagonisms and secure a stable societal reproduction through a highly organized system of social and economic regulation. He also contends that the state, the economy, and civil society neither exist as unified social essences, nor do they provide the real structures of social life. The analysis focuses on Marxism, the current primacy of politics, and strategies for recovery from the present crisis of the welfare state. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

300 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998