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This Chapter explores paradoxes in modern welfare provision. In so doing, it both engages with theoretical expositions of the contradictions within modern forms of governing and by presenting three specific case studies on paradoxical welfare. The chapter draws in particular upon insights from Michel Foucault and governmentality writers, and empirically it uses studies from Denmark done by the author and one done by a fellow researcher. First the chapter presents the view on governmentality as it was developed by Foucault and writers who draw on his framework for understanding modern power. This section especially highlights the paradoxes inherent in modern ways of governing, and it discusses how these paradoxes re-emerge and give shape to modern welfare provision. Next, the chapter explores three cases of concrete welfare provision with a focus on its inherent paradoxes. The first case is on the preparatory training of unemployed people, the second concerns anti-authoritarian dialogue techniques used in motivational therapy, and the third examines health promotion by means of ‘playful’ techniques purporting to influence individuals’ identity-work. Finally, a brief discussion is offered on how paradoxes may be handled not only analytically but also by practitioners. The point of departure of the chapter is that paradoxes constitute a persisting and integral property of modern welfare provision. This means that we may hardly hope to suspend or resolve them once and for all, but should rather look for ways of rendering them productive.

Paradoxes of Welfare: Universality, Truth, and Power in Modern Welfare Provision