Abstract
One common answer to the question in the title of this chapter is that we all need the Welfare State. From the perspective of utopian welfare theorists such as Titmuss and Townsend, the Welfare State is not essentially, or even primarily, concerned with answering the special needs of the disadvantaged as such, however defined. The Welfare State is there to serve us all. Universal welfare provision is simply a defining characteristic of a civilized society.
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© 1996 David Marsland
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Marsland, D. (1996). Who Needs the Welfare State? Relative Poverty as Absolute Prosperity. In: Welfare or Welfare State?. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24576-5_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24576-5_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-63113-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-24576-5
eBook Packages: Palgrave Social & Cultural Studies CollectionSocial Sciences (R0)