Abstract
The UK’s welfare state has been much criticised by thinkers and activists of the New Right since the rise of Thatcherism. However, it has also been much criticised by thinkers and activists of the left. This chapter explores how such criticisms were developed in the work of Colin Ward, Sheila Rowbotham, Stuart Hall, Paul Hirst and Hilary Wainwright. It focuses on a shared theme: the need to develop forms of state–society partnership in the design and delivery of welfare. In their thought, the state would retain its role as a mobiliser of resources; but decisions about what should be done with these resources, in areas such as housing, childcare and education, would pass to groups in a democratic, participatory civil society.
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White, S. (2016). The Left After Social Democracy: Towards State–Society Partnerships. In: Ackers, P., Reid, A. (eds) Alternatives to State-Socialism in Britain. Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-34162-0_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-34162-0_11
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
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Online ISBN: 978-3-319-34162-0
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