Radical alternative conceptualizations of the classical welfare state? Contrasting the United Kingdom and the Netherlands with Norway

In many countries, new, broad, and normative “conceptions of society” gained prominence that represent fundamentally different discursive alternatives to the classical welfare state. We present two political projects that contain radical alternative conceptualizations of the classical welfare state,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social policy & administration 2020-09, Vol.54 (5), p.813-826
Main Authors: Kersbergen, Kees, Metliaas, Kjersti
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alternatives
Concept formation
international comparison of
Participation
politics of social and public policies
Public policy
Radicalism
welfare politics
Welfare reform
Welfare state
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Summary:In many countries, new, broad, and normative “conceptions of society” gained prominence that represent fundamentally different discursive alternatives to the classical welfare state. We present two political projects that contain radical alternative conceptualizations of the classical welfare state, the “Big Society” in Britain and the “Participation Society” in the Netherlands, and contrast these with Norwegian developments, where no such a radical alternative conceptualization of the welfare state can be found. We show that the British and Dutch political projects were attempts to replace the welfare state, whereas there is no comparable big idea about a radical overhaul of the welfare state in Norway. Our analysis contributes to a better understanding of a fundamental shift in welfare state reform, namely a radical reconsidering of the ideational and normative foundation that defines and underpins what the welfare state is or should be.
ISSN:0144-5596
1467-9515
DOI:10.1111/spol.12580