The moral economy of welfare states : Britain and Germany compared

Abstract

The welfare state can be regarded as the major institutional arrangement of western societies that contributes to a socially accepted allocation of resources amongst the members of a given society. It is a means by which the political sphere re-balances intolerable inequalities and outcomes that have occurred within the market. For this purpose, a significant proportion of income must be transferred between individuals and social groups. Most welfare measures, therefore, are redistributive measures that aim at achieving a distribution of societal resources that is preferable to the primary distribution of the market.