‘The state should have no responsibility for providing for the basic and welfare needs of its citizens.’
Assess this view (20 marks).

Written by Jayna Shah (Nov 2007).

Introduction
         In this essay, I will explain the following models of state welfare: Beveridge, New Right, Third Way, and some radical methods of welfare (Marxist and feminism). I will state which model of state welfare I think the above view suits best and why. Then by giving examples of the basic and welfare needs of citizens I will assess the view.  

Beveridge 
         The welfare state is a state whose primary objective is to promote and protect the economic, health and social status of its citizens often through direct involvement. The state began to accept that it had a responsibility for guaranteeing a basic standard of living for everyone by the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century.  
William Beveridge’s social research was strongly associated with the welfare state’s role in delivering this guarantee. He published the Beveridge Report in 1942, it showed a model for the role of the state, he had developed over a decade. Idleness, disease, want, ignorance and squalor were the five evils that he identified as being socially divisive and economically costly to Britain’s society. Beveridge said if society were to tackle the five evils the rise of social, economic and political unrest could be avoided.
Academics and policy makers argued that state had to accept main responsibility for a number of things which covered basic and welfare needs of citizens. It included providing free healthcare to all, guaranteeing a basic standard of living, and providing adequate social security payment in the event of unemployment.  

New Right
The New Right’s argument was dominant in the eighteenth and nineteenth century but had then fallen out of favour since. The argument re-emerged in the 1970s, when it began to gain support, and was that the state should reduce and limit its responsibility for employment and welfare provision. This model of state welfare supports the view that ‘the state should have no responsibility for providing for the basic and welfare needs of its citizens’ because it believes the state should reduce and limit its responsibility for such needs, it could even lead to no responsibility for such needs.
The morality and effectiveness of state’s close involvement with welfare and employment were beginning to be questioned by academics and politicians, including Sir Keith Joseph, because they ultimately influenced individual’s lifestyles and lives.
‘Neo-liberalism’ was the term used to describe and name the New Right’s ideological approach. The Conservative adopted this approach and changed it so it would suit the Party’s revised policy approach.
‘Nanny state’ is the term used to describe the state’s interference into an individual’s social welfare and responsibility. Such a state would take care of everything as though it knew best. It was thought that individuals should take more responsibility for their own social welfare.   
The Conservative Party challenged the post-war consensus, which was an agreement between the Labour and Conservative Party that the state had a primary role of responsibility to ensure an adequate provision of education, health, social security/unemployment, pensions, and housing, and to also ensure full employment. When the Conservative Party were elected in 1979, with Margaret Thatcher as head of the government, the post-war consensus was broken up.

Third Way
         Politicians and academics including Giddens (1993) and F Field (1995) argued in order to balance individual and state responsibilities we must put together a mix of individual and state responsibilities for economic and social welfare. It is thought individuals must fulfil strict responsibilities before the state intervene, an example of this with jobseeker’s allowance, the individual must prove he/she is actively seeking work before he/she can receive this unemployment benefit.
         This approach to welfare is consistent with the Communitarian Third Way when it comes to the state’s and individual’s partnership of responsibilities, obligations and rights. For example, the state gives us a right to a basic provision of free education till the age of 19 and we have the obligation to go to school in order to fulfil this right, if the right is not fulfilled the person’s parent(s)/guardian(s) could be prosecuted. 

Radical methods (Marxist and feminists)
         Marxist believes that inequality of ownership is why the economic and social order of the United Kingdom is in unrest. The bulk of the wealth and power in society is controlled by a small proportion of the population of the UK. So, if we want to rid the UK of social and economic unrest and have equality we must re-structure the capitalist system to a more communal system.
          Feminists claim that the above systems of welfare do not fully consider the issues in relation to women and that society is based upon patriarchy. A reason for this can be seen that in the past the male of the household is thought to be the highest and probably the only earner of the household and that the female will be the housewife and look after the children they might have.
         It is thought by some feminists that in order to create greater equality that childcare should be free and that women should be encouraged to look for paid employment and not just become a housewife.

Basic and welfare needs
         One of the basic and welfare needs of citizens is free healthcare. Many citizens use this service provided by the state because they cannot afford private healthcare. So, if a person, on minimum wage, has just had both his legs cut off at work because some machinery malfunctioned he would have to pay for the surgery to close the wounds, for the stay at the hospital and would have to pay for the artificial limbs he would receive if he wanted them, this can all add up to thousands and thousands of pounds which he may now not be able to afford as he cannot work, well at least not yet. How will he get the treatment he needs if he doesn’t have health insurance which he probably doesn’t seeing as he is on minimum wage, although an extreme example it shows that without free healthcare, which is considered a basic welfare need how will the poorer in society be able to afford such a necessary service.
         Also without this free health service many people and much time would be lost to the workforce as people who need antibiotics to recover from the flu, may not be able to afford them and will have to wait to recover naturally without the help of those little pills, which takes a lot longer.
         Another basic welfare need is free education, which is provided by the state till the age of 19 (does not cover education at university, even if the person is 19). Without a basic education e.g. reading, writing, arithmetic, many people will struggle to find work, which is mainly geared towards services, as those three things are usually required. It is likely those without a basic education will be lost to the workforce as they do not have the skills required to do a job.       

Conclusion
         I don’t believe ‘The state should have no responsibility for providing for the basic and welfare needs of its citizens.’ This is quite simply because without any provision of the basic and welfare needs, such as a free health service and a free education people can not fight against the five evils which are socially divisive and economically costly to British society.

Bibliography
The following resources were used to complete this essay: