Liberal Economists and the British Welfare State: from Beveridge to the New Right (original) (raw)

The chapter explores the relationship between liberal economists and the welfare state in three ways. First I look at the liberals whom Hayek associated with collectivism in the 1940s, Beveridge and Keynes, and ask how different their conceptions of the welfare state were from his. The I look at liberal critiques of different aspects of the welfare state: income support, the National Health Service, education, housing and employment policy. Finally I offer brief observations on the impact of the New Right on the welfare state in the 1980s.