The family in the welfare state

by Alan Tapper

It's a commonplace that 'the family is in trouble'. The vast increase in welfare spending since the 1950s has not eradicated social problems in the way its architects hoped; in fact there is good evidence that the supply of welfare benefits has created its own demand. Yet there is little public debate about the fundamentals of the welfare state, and the usual response to the problems of the family is to demand more welfare spending.

284 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 31, 1990

About the author

Dr Alan Tapper is Adjunct Research Fellow at the John Curtin Institute of Public Policy, Curtin University, Perth. His interests include philosophy in schools, professional ethics, family policy and 18th Century intellectual history.