The New Social Question

Rethinking the Welfare State

Pierre Rosanvallon, Barbara Harshav

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English

Princeton University Press
28 August 2024

Social issues & processes; Social welfare & social services; Central government policies

Series: New French Thought Series

How social and intellectual changes undermine our justifications for the welfare state

The welfare state has come under severe pressure internationally, partly for the well-known reasons of slowing economic growth and declining confidence in the public sector. According to the influential social theorist Pierre Rosanvallon, however, there is also a deeper and less familiar reason for the crisis of the welfare state. He shows here that a fundamental practical and philosophical justification for traditional welfare policies-that all citizens share equal risks-has been undermined by social and intellectual change. If we wish to achieve the goals of social solidarity and civic equality for which the welfare state was founded, Rosanvallon argues, we must radically rethink social programs.

Rosanvallon begins by tracing the history of the welfare state and its founding premise that risks, especially the risks of illness and unemployment, are equally distributed and unpredictable. He shows that this idea has become untenable because of economic diversification and advances in statistical and risk analysis. It is truer than ever before-and far more susceptible to analysis-that some individuals will face much greater risks than others because of their jobs and lifestyle choices. Rosanvallon argues that social policies must be more narrowly targeted. And he draws on evidence from around the world, in particular France and the United States, to show that such programs as unemployment insurance and workfare could better reflect individual needs by, for example, making more explicit use of contracts between the providers and receivers of benefits. His arguments have broad implications for welfare programs everywhere and for our understanding of citizenship in modern democracies and economies.

By: Pierre Rosanvallon
Translated by: Barbara Harshav
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9780691265773
ISBN 10: 0691265771
Series: New French Thought Series
Pages: 176
Publication Date: 28 August 2024
Audience: Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , Undergraduate , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Pierre Rosanvallon is professor at the Collge de France and director of studies at the cole des Hautes tudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris. His many books include Democratic Legitimacy: Impartiality, Reflexivity, Proximity (Princeton) and The Demands of Liberty: Civil Society in France since the Revolution. Nathan Glazer (19232019) was professor emeritus of education and sociology at Harvard University.

Reviews for The New Social Question: Rethinking the Welfare State

"""Of all the new French liberals, Pierre Rosanvallon has the most to say about issues of great concern to Americans. The New Social Question explores with great subtlety the core question of social solidarity and its meanings, in the present and for the future. It is an essential meditation on what can and should be done with the welfare state.""--Sean Wilentz, Princeton University"