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Identifying Attitudes to Welfare through Deliberative Forums – The Emergence of Reluctant Individualism

Taylor-Gooby, Peter, Leruth, Benjamin, Chung, Heejung (2018) Identifying Attitudes to Welfare through Deliberative Forums – The Emergence of Reluctant Individualism. Policy and Politics, . ISSN 0305-5736. E-ISSN 1470-8442. (doi:10.1332/030557318X15155868234361) (KAR id:65478)

Abstract

This article uses deliberative forums to examine attitudes to UK welfare futures. It makes methodological, empirical and theoretical contributions to the field. We demonstrate the value of the approach, provide insights into attitudes, in particular about priorities and how people link ideas together, and show how the UK’s neo-liberal market-centredness fits with enthusiasm for state health care and pensions, desire to close national labour market to immigrants and approval of government interventions to expand opportunities for those who make the effort. Findings point to the strength of the work ethic and individual responsibility alongside a regret that major and highly-valued state services appear unsustainable, the construction of immigrants as simultaneously a burden on provision and unfair labour-market competitors and backing for the development of a ‘new risk’ welfare state through social investment. The study reveals the complexity of responses to current challenges in an increasingly liberal-leaning welfare state.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1332/030557318X15155868234361
Projects: WelfSoc: Our Childrens' Europe
Uncontrolled keywords: welfare state, austerity, retrenchment, social security, individual responsibility, collective benefits
Subjects: H Social Sciences
H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research
Funders: [37325] UNSPECIFIED
Depositing User: Peter Taylor-Gooby
Date Deposited: 15 Dec 2017 14:40 UTC
Last Modified: 04 Mar 2024 17:13 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/65478 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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