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State socialism and the welfare state: a critique of two conventional paradigms
Author(s) -
Chen Sheying
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
international journal of social welfare
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1468-2397
pISSN - 1369-6866
DOI - 10.1111/1468-2397.00220
Subject(s) - socialism , state socialism , welfare state , marxist philosophy , ideology , communism , state (computer science) , political economy , china , sociology , political science , economic system , economics , politics , law , capitalism , algorithm , computer science
The post–war development of industrialised nations has been led by the idea of a welfare state. On the other hand, research on current and former communist states is still dominated by an age–old notion of ‘state socialism’. This article provides a critical assessment of the two conventional paradigms by reviewing their implications within the historical and international contexts. By tracing its ideological roots and contrasting with the changing reality, it is argued that state socialism was misused in representing Marxist guidelines and is outdated in characterising the reforming socialist societies. By emphasising the experience of developing nations the article further challenges the welfare state as the paradigm for studying the general direction of a modern society. Attention is drawn to the study of a general public policy, and the economic state model is revisited for conceptualising the experience of a non–welfare state nation such as China.