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FROM ENTITLEMENT TO OBLIGATION IN THE AUSTRALIAN WELFARE STATE
Author(s) -
Macintyre Clement
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
australian journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.417
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1839-4655
pISSN - 0157-6321
DOI - 10.1002/j.1839-4655.1999.tb01072.x
Subject(s) - entitlement (fair division) , obligation , project commissioning , welfare , state (computer science) , publishing , law and economics , political science , moral obligation , law , excuse , sociology , economics , mathematical economics , algorithm , computer science
This article examines recent debates relating to the provision of welfare in Australia. It starts with an assessment of the trend towards the acceptance of the philosophy of ‘mutual obligation’ by governments, commentators and lobby groups, traces the process of the movement of welfare from ‘entitlement’ to ‘obligation’ and argues that this is being used to justify a reworking of the relationship between citizen and state. The paper argues that a ‘genuine’ mutual obligation has always been part of the Australian welfare system and that, in contrast to the current rhetoric of individual responsibility, it should rather be seen as a community based obligation.