何をもって福祉国家とするのかは、国によっても、時によっても変わります。市場と行政のバランスというものは、福祉国家を考えるにあたって常になくてはならないものです。現代政治を考察するにあたって、福祉国家とは解決策というよりは問題とみなされてしまいがちです。本書では歴史的にも現代においても重要である福祉国家は、決して欠陥などではなく、資本主義や民主主義にとって欠かすことのできない要素であると説きます。
　　

• Offers a succinct account of the social and political issues surrounding the welfare state
• Provides a new basis for thinking about a familiar set of institutions
• Discusses the welfare state as a whole, setting it in its historical and sociological context
• Places US and UK institutions against the comparative backdrop of European and Nordic welfare regimes

   
Welfare states vary across nations and change over time. And the balance between markets and government; free enterprise and social protection is perennially in question. But all developed societies have welfare states of one kind or another - they are a fundamental dimension of modern government. And even after decades of free-market criticism and reform, their core institutions have proven resilient and popular. 
  
This Very Short Introduction describes the modern welfare state, explaining its historical and contemporary significance and arguing that far from being 'a failure' or 'a problem', welfare states are an essential element of contemporary capitalism, and a vital concomitant of democratic government. In this accessible and entertaining account, David Garland cuts through the fog of misunderstandings to explain in clear and simple terms, what welfare states are, how they work, and why they matter.