Book Description

In the years following World War II, the concept of State Welfare did seem to be the golden mean between Marxian revolution and laissez faire evolution in the human pursuit of social justice. Western democratic states that upheld the primacy of the individual and his liberty over that of the 'State' operationalized State responsibility for welfare on the basis of social policies compatible with their socio-political and economic systems. This resulted in the coming into existence of a large number of services rendered by the State to its citizens touching all aspects of their lives, cutting through informal, intermediary institutions, and developing a direct link with it. The focus of this study is on these services in two such states, i.e., the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Their provision and administration for ethnic minorities that form part of their national communities is dealt with in particular. The Netherlands and the United Kingdom have constitutional monarchical systems based on the sovereignty of the people. Liberalism is an underlying sociological base for their societies. Both had acquired overseas colonies which resulted in the settlement of people with ethnic origins different from their dominant group within their national communities. These factors make the two comparable. However, the ideological basis, social and economic forces and movements that led to the establishment of State welfare in the two states differ significantly. The study reveals that their particular ideological positions on State-Society relations have a significant impact on social policies adopted by them and in the modalities of their implementation. The British stand on assimilation in one dominant culture and the Dutch stand on integration with acceptance of pluralism throw up the genuine problems in the harmonization of social policy in a United Europe of the future.