the Welfare State

What are civil rights (1st generation)?

Rights protecting individuals from discrimination and ensuring freedoms like speech, movement, thought, and assembly.

FATS

What are political rights (1st generation)?

Rights allowing political participation, e.g., voting, protesting, and fair trial.

What are social rights (2nd generation)?

Rights to meet basic needs: food, education, healthcare, social security, housing.

What is a welfare state? =stato sociale/assistenziale

a governmental system that provides basic economic security for its citizens by protecting them from market risks(unemployment, illness, old age)

The origins of welfare state in Britain?

Before the 20th century, w was locally managed and poor in quality. In the 19th century workhouses: the old,handicapped and orphans were sent. People were treated harshly. The 20th century saw the introduction of reforms that aimed to improve living conditions and expand access to social services.

Who wrote the 1942 report proposing the Welfare State?

William Beveridge.

Who commissioned the Beveridge Report and when? Who was he?

Prime Minister Winston Churchill commissioned it in 1941 during WWII. An economist, Liberal politician(conservative), and employment expert who chaired the commission on post-war welfare.

What were Beveridge’s 5 “giant evils”?

Want (poverty), Disease, Ignorance, Squalor (bad housing), Idleness (unemployment).

What revolutionary idea was central to the Beveridge Report?

All workers pay a flat-rate contribution to a state fund to provide support "from cradle:culla to grave."

What major political change happened in 1945?

The Labour Party defeated Churchill’s Conservatives; Clement Attlee /ˈklɛmənt ˈætli/became PM and implemented the Welfare State.

Which key acts were influenced by the Beveridge Report?

• Education Act (1944)/Butler This act provided free secondary education for all pupils and raised the school leaving age to 15

• NHS Act (1946)

• National Insurance Act (1946)

• National Assistance Act (1948)

When was the NHS created and what are its principles?

1948; universal access, free at the point of use, based on need—not ability to pay.

How is the UK welfare state funded?

Through taxation and National Insurance contributions.

UK vs. USA welfare spending (% of GDP)?

UK ~21%, Italy ~28%, USA ~18%.

What services does the UK Welfare State include? Some benefits?

• Healthcare

• education

• social security: Pensions, unemployment support, disability allowance, maternity/paternity pay,Income support: reddito di cittadinanza

  • means tested: in base reddito

• social care: assistenza sociale Help for the elderly, disabled, or vulnerable people with daily living

• housing

Challenges of the welfare state?

Fraud risk, high cost, dependency culture, aging population.

NHS challenges

• Long waiting lists (low doctor-to-patient ratio).

• Expensive treatments strain financial resources.

• Growing use of private care and medical tourism.

• Heavy bureaucracy, many admin roles.

What does “a hand up, not a handout” mean?

Helping people become self-reliant, not dependent on charity.

The Big Issue

• Founded in 1991 by Gordon Roddick and John Bird to help the homeless earn an income through selling a magazine.

• Inspired by a homeless paper in New York called Street News.

• Business model: Vendors buy the magazine for £1.75 and sell it for £4.00, keeping the profit – making them micro-entrepreneurs.

• John Bird's motivation: He used his own experiences with poverty and homelessness to create something meaningful.

• Global reach: Inspired similar street papers in 35 countries.

• Motto: A hand up, not a handout – helping people help themselves instead of relying on charity.

•  Readership: Over 400,000 weekly readers and 83,000 copies sold per week.