The Welfare state - Essay Example

THE WELFARE The Welfare Today the is the virtual guardian and patron of its citizens. It has become the duty of the state to bridge as far as possible the gulf, which exist between the rich, and the poor. For we must understand that the welfare state is the outcome of the socialistic ideology. The definition of welfare state says: "Political system under which the state (rather than the individual or the private sector) has responsibility for the welfare of its citizens, providing a guaranteed minimum standard of life, and insurance against the hazards of poverty, illness, and social deprivation. Welfare services include social security, which makes provision against interruption of earnings through sickness, injury, old age, or unemployment. They take the forms of unemployment and sickness benefits, family allowances, and income supplements, provided and typically financed through state insurance schemes. The services also include health and education, financed typically through taxation, and the provision of subsidized 'social housing'. Subsidized public transport, leisure facilities, and public libraries, with special discounts for the elderly, unemployed, and disabled, are other noncore elements of a welfare state" (Tiscali.Co.Uk) Today the welfare state discharges many of the functions, which formerly were he responsibilities of an individual. It undertakes big projects and incurs huge expenditure for improving nation's agriculture, industry and economy. In countries, it scores of multipurpose projects are underway, which a view to removing poverty, backwardness and unemployment. Railways, irrigation, industry education, health and every conceivable aspect of nation's life are receiving attention. Now the question arises, if the state does everything, what are the duties of he individual in the state Shall we say that citizens has just to sit ands enjoy the fruit s of the labor of the state We should understand that State is a mere abstraction without taking into consideration the individuals who compose it .It is a government based on the principles of democracy, formed and run by the representatives of the people. The state has enough power because the citizens curtail their own liberty and rights for the common good. Hence, in the last analysis, the final responsibility of making the state a success rests on the individual citizens. The first and foremost duty of a citizen in a Welfare state is to have broad outlook. A citizen must restrict his self-consciousness and self-interest to the minimum. Without affecting his personality, he has to identify his interest with those of his fellow citizens. He must believe that the good of the individual lies in the good of the society as a whole. He should also understand that this can e achieved through the agency of the state. In a welfare state no individual or group can e allow to pursue selfish ends. For instance, business magnets and industrialists cannot run their own factories purely from the profit point of view. They will have to summit to some sort of nationalism either complete or partial. The state should judge the requirements of the nation. Hence it shall regulate production. In a welfare state the incidence of taxation is usually very high, particularly in the case of the higher income group of people .A true citizen would not grudge to pa these taxes, for he knows that the State takes one hand and gives with the other. An individual thus will not have a flat personal bank balance, but he will have the amenities from the state, which otherwise he would have to procure through his personal funds. Closely associated with it is the need to extend one's wholehearted cooperation in all the schemes, which are launched by the state. For more than money is the individual's willingness to work for he success of the projects and developments schemes. The individual must contribute the labor of his body and mind. When a new road is made or river spanned with a bridge or dam constructed or a bridge equipped with drains, it is all and sundry who benefit from them. It is triumph of cooperative work. The United Kingdom: Alfred Zimmern first used the phrase 'welfare state' in the late 1930s, to distinguish between the policies of the democracies and the 'war state' of Europe's dictators. Elements of a welfare system began to be constructed in parts of Western Europe from the late 19th century. It was not until the early 1940s, with the UK taking the lead, that a comprehensive welfare state, covering all its elements and available to all, was established. (Tiscali.Co.Uk) Asa Briggs, in a classic essay on the British welfare state, identified three principal elements. These were: 1. A guarantee of minimum standards, including a minimum income; 2. Social protection in the event of insecurity; and 3. The provision of services at the best level possible. (Briggs, 1961) This has become identified, in practice, with the 'institutional' model of welfare: the key elements are social protection, and the provision of welfare services on the basis of right. In practice, social welfare in the United Kingdom is very different from this ideal. Coverage is extensive, but benefits and services are delivered at a low level. The social protection provided is patchy, and services are tightly rationed Mass cooperation and harmony are the bedrocks of a welfare state. An individual forms the bulwark, the mainstay of the state. Government efficiency can never be enough, without the wholehearted response of he people. Hence selfishness, dishonesty, corruption and evil practices must be given up for the larger interest of the nation. We must give up the practice of feathering our own nest. In this way we put a spanners into the smooth -moving wheels of the State. People, who indulge in corrupt practices, are the criminals and must be severely dealt with. It is not pure altruism, for what is good for the community is good for the individual as well. References Briggs A, 1961, The Welfare State in historical perspective, European Journal of Sociology. [Online]. Available at http://www2.rgu.ac.uk/publicpolicy/introduction/wstate.htm The Welfare State. Tiscali.Co.Uk. [Online]. Available at http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0028820.html Read More