Do We Need a Welfare State

Do We Need a Welfare State

DO WE NEED A WELFARE STATE-IF SO WHY- IF NOT WHY NOT?
A welfare state has got two sides to it. It is a monster on one side but from another perspective, it does bring with it a lot of good things. With this in mind, it all depends from which angle one views it from and hence making ita highly controversial and debatable issue. By definition, a welfare state refers to the state’s involvement in the provision of social security as well as social services to its people.( Cochrane, A & Clark. J, 1993: 4). This essay serves to explore the disadvantages as well as the advantages of a welfare state. The monstrous side of a welfare state would be quite evident in the way in which it is encouraging a benefit scrounger culture in the society. A lot of people would rather not go to work and earn money whilst they spend the day in the comfort of their homes. This unwillingness to take up employment brings some detrimental effects to the economy in the long run. On the other hand,life without a welfare state is as unimaginable as it is unthinkable. A lot of people would plummet into abject poverty. Destitution coupled with a lot of other dire consequences like homelessness would become a common phenomena in the society. Social unrest would infiltrate the society and transform it into a haven of barbarians as most people would engage into criminal activities in a desperate attempt to overcome the poverty which they will be languishing in.
A welfare state promotes irresponsibility in the society. People will always look up to the state to do everything for them. Hayek as cited in the text Ideology And Social Welfare, criticises the idea of a welfare state as evidenced below:
‘’ He believes that the effect has been ‘the destruction of the feeling of personal responsibility to which it has led’. More directly, he argues that ‘responsibility to be effective must be individual responsibility’.’’ (George, V & Wilding. P, 1985: 22)
To analyse this statement, there is a...

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