Premium
The plight of universal social services
Author(s) -
Gilbert Neil
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
journal of policy analysis and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.898
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1520-6688
pISSN - 0276-8739
DOI - 10.2307/3324351
Subject(s) - entitlement (fair division) , social welfare , welfare state , universalism , state (computer science) , welfare , political science , welfare dependency , sociology , economics , law , politics , mathematical economics , algorithm , computer science
In the early 1960s, the motivating theme of social services in the American welfare state was reduction of economic dependency. At that time services were highly selective, aimed mainly at poor people. Between 1960 and 1980 there was a drift toward univeralism, as the welfare state expanded to serve an increasing number of middle‐class groups. This expansion of the welfare state was related to several social and demographic trends, and was accompanied by basic changes in the scope and purpose of social services. As the welfare state has moved toward universal entitlement to social services, a number of contradictions between the theory and practice of universalism in a capitalist society have surfaced. These contradictions lend a degree of support to the resurgence of selectivity which the welfare state is currently experiencing.