19 Liberal and Welfare State

Dr. Kanwalpreet

Introduction

When we talk about a ‘Welfare state’, we should know the meaning of ‘State’ and how it originated. In simple terms, State is an area that should have population, fixed territory, government and sovereignty, both internal and external. A state is an organization that has legal, coercive power not only to maintain discipline in the society but also to distribute and redistribute resources. State is that part of the society that is needed to maintain law and order in the society and to regulate its members. Social control in the form of customs, traditions is the norm in the society but a little more control is needed. This is where the State, steps in ‘The laws of the state have primacy over all other rules and regulations in society’.1 There are many theories regarding the origin and also the functions of the State. Each view has its own notion of the functions of the state. ‘In Plato’s view, it refers to the perfect form of the state (in the Republic). For Aristotle it is the ‘ultimate home of the man (man being a political animal) and the ‘nature’ of man is to stay in the state as is the nature of a seed to grow into a tree. For Hegel, it is the ‘march of the God on earth’, i.e. the journey of an over-arching ‘Spirit’.2 Machiavelli, the architect of the modern concept of the State, in his book ‘The Prince’, says that ‘all the powers which have had and have authority over men are states and are either monarch or republics.’3 A liberal and a welfare state is one in which the people are given rights and their basic needs are looked after by the respective states. The welfare of all the people, irrespective of caste, colour, creed, sex, religion or region is promoted. Aristotle also advocates that man is by nature a political animal so the State which originated for the sake of life continues for the sake of good life. A state fulfills its objectives when it improves the quality of life its citizens, when it is able to offer to citizens adequate advantages, both in matters of material goods as well as promote the life of the citizens morally and ethically. The Utilitarians, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, the best known exponents of Utilitarian school advocate that all men desire happiness and believe in the ‘greatest happiness of the greatest numbers.’ Bentham wants the State to help remove all disabilities so that the welfare of the subjects is forwarded.

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A welfare state is a state in which the government plays a very important role in protecting as well as promoting the well-being of its citizens in the economic, political and social spheres. This type of state is a combination of a democracy as well as capitalism. The thought behind the foundation of such a state is minimum or no inequality and also an equitable distribution of wealth. It also advocates and practices equality of opportunity as well as offering minimum provisions for a decent life. The early nineteenth century was characterized by ‘laissez-faire’ or ‘individualism ’ in which the government, as an agent of the state was given minimum functions i.e. to protect the citizen from external and internal danger. The advocates of this theory believed that the individual was in a better position to judge his interests than any government. In the economic field, they believed in open competition. This theory is also known as ‘Negative liberalism’ and it believed that it is beneficial for the individual and for the society, to let the individuals alone. ‘Government is a joint-stock company for mutual assurance; its national function is to hinder hindrances. Its interference in any other aspect of life is unnatural and socially harmful’.4 This belief was popular in England from 1750 to 1850 and then it faded away because of some inherent drawbacks. ‘In the long run. however, laissez-faire proved disastrous to the community; its social cost outweighed its economic gains. Long hours of labour, inadequate wages, overcrowded factories and insanitary arrangements – these were the lot to which the workman had to submit.5 The State was made to sit-up seeing the exploitation of the common worker. Realisation dawned that ‘laissez-faire’ was successful only when everybody had the same bargaining power. The workers were exploited by those who had immense resources at their disposal. The State had to assume a greater moral responsibility to protect the weak and the vulnerable. This led to ‘Positive liberalism’ which advocates an active role of the State to see that there is equitable distribution of resources. ‘Opponents of the welfare state hold that the only justifiable mechanism for allocating resources is the market. On this view, individuals are free only free when they are not prevented by the State from disposing of their resources as they choose. Priority is placed on the autonomy of civil society and the domain of negative freedom’.6 Thus, the welfare state has many advocates for they feel that every individual has a right to a decent life where no one should lack the basic needs. After the experiment with ‘laissez-faire’ the need for the State to balance the conflicting interests were needed. Thus, the State stepped in. ‘Keynes and Beveridge were liberal architects of the welfare state in Britain. They were ideologists of the ideas of indicative economic planning and the provision of comprehensive welfare measures to ensure individuals have a secure platform on which to build their freedom.’7

The liberal welfare state doesn’t give services to its citizens as charity, but as a right of each individual. The State has to ensure that each citizen has the freedom of choice and can exercise the choice.Welfare State in developing countries

The role of the liberal welfare state in developing countries is very challenging. Initially, known as the ‘Third World’ in the last century, these countries were infested in with many problems. A majority of them were colonies and had been badly exploited. Poverty, ignorance, illiteracy, lack of infra-structure were just a few problems in the long list. Each problem had to be tackled tactfully without ruffling too many features. The latter was not possible because there was concentration of wealth in the hands of a few who were reluctant to part with their assets. The local elite which had risen wanted progress and development, but on their own terms. The leadership of these countries were in a quandary as to the role of the State. The concept of a ‘Welfare’ state appealed to all, yet its implementation was a problem. Rigorous steps would have to be taken to fulfill the idea of a ‘Welfare’ state because it was the need of the hour.

‘Welfare’ state was a worldwide phenomenon and as discussed above debates were raging among political scientists as to the exact role of the state. But, a majority in the western world were convinced that welfare state had to be a reality, however, cumbersome it was for carrying out welfare activities meant extra burden on the state exchequer of every nation. In India, for example, the concept of welfare state was incorporated in the Indian Constitution from Arts. 36 to 56 in the Directive Principles of State. The Indian government faced the stark reality of tackling poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition, high infant mortality etc. The State started making amends. The Indian State decided to tackle these problems by floating various plans. When India got its independence, the economic condition of the country was miserable. There was a big gap between the haves and have-nots. Property and resources were in the hands of a privileged few. The Indian State decided to act because there were many social evils like sati, child marriage, female infanticide etc. prevalent in the society. With a low socio-economic development, the effort was to establish socio-economic democracy in India. The Five Year plans floated after every five years by the government tried to balance all the regions of the country and develop them. The State ensures adequate means of livelihood for all, as also fair distribution of resources for the common, social good, stressing on equal pay for equal work for both men and women, the government tries to secure participation of the workers in the management of factories. The State also endeavors to give right to work to each and every citizen besides securing just and humane conditions of work for everybody. Children’s education has become a priority with the State by imparting free and compulsory education till the age of 14. Going a step further, the India welfare state also provides free mid-day meal to the children studying in government schools. Reservation for the weaker sections of the society, particularly the Scheduled castes and tribes helps them to be able to merge into the national mainstream. The government has fixed minimum wages and has also started schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and Swaran Jayanti Gram Swarojgar Yozna to help in rural employment. Steps have been taken to protect women, children and the vulnerable from exploitation. India is a liberal welfare state because it offers social, political and economic rights .

Indonesia is another country that has decided to become a welfare state by passing a law to provide health insurance to all the 240 m citizens from January 1st ,2014. In the same law, it is planned to pay pensions and have insurance for workers who are accident victims. Though it will be a great burden on the state, China’s health insurance covers more than 90% of the citizens in rural areas. Thailand introduced universal health care in 2001 and also introduced pensions for the informal sector, the sector most vulnerable to exploitation in May 2011. S. Korea has a long term care and pensions for the elderly. Singapore is offering more incentives and help to the aged and the elderly. Singapore model has to be followed where they boast of the best schools and hospitals, yet the government spending is only one-fifth of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The Asian countries have learnt a valuable lesson from Europe. In the latter, the safety net has become a cushion in the long run. The Asian welfare states do not want to substitute hard-work with cumbersome, flabby welfare schemes.

The welfare states of Asia need to keep in mind the demography factor for the population of this region is aging quickly. This means more pensions and health facilities should be rolled out. The huge income disparities in countries like India, Indonesia and China make the idea of a welfare-state a very difficult task. The social spending has to be monitored very carefully. In the Western countries, the idea of a welfare-state is a ‘ White Elephant.’. Discouraging, ‘nanny states’, the countries in the west like Greece and Spain are knee-deep in debt.

Until recently, the governments in Asia concentrated on welfare-programmes like education, building-up infra-structure etc. But now the care for the aged also falls on the State unlike the past when the governments depended on strong, traditional family ties and looking after the elders. India has passed the Protection for Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 and Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007. The former is to safeguard women within the four-walls of her house and the latter to safeguard the Interests of the parents. Thus, while opting to become welfare states, the countries have to keep in mind the financial constraints so that they are not bogged down in the long-run. On the other hand, South Korea proved to be a challenge to the dependency theory by getting itself tied to the international economy and also to the United States. It took the help from outside its borders but at the same time upgraded its industries with the help of debt rather than foreign investment. The State took up measures, land reforms and emphasized on primary education. The government overcame coordination failures and today boasts of an income greater than many countries. Singapore allocates limited public space without considering the size of the family. It has tried to limit maternity leave to two children and also by reducing income tax relief from five to three children. ‘In 1984, it even went so far as to give special priority in school admission to all children born to women with university degrees while penalizing non-degree holding women with more than two children.8 A welfare state takes such steps so that there is less burden on resources and an equitable distribution of resources. States in Asia have been more active and positive in welfare activities as compared to Africa. The welfare states in Asia believe that state intervention is essential for growth. ‘Development (economic, social and sustainable) without an effective state is impossible. It is increasingly recognised that an effective state – not a minimal one – is central to economic and social development, but more as partner and facilitator than director. States should work to complement markets, not replace them.9

Welfare State in Latin America

   Torado Michael P., Smith, Stephen C., Economic Development, 2004,Pearson, New Delhi,p. 295. A.P. Thirwall, Economic Development, 2014, Palgrave Macmillan, Replika, New Delhi, p. 310.

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In Latin America, the welfare states are considered in transition. Following the bismarkian model, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay initiated the welfare progammes. Also known as ‘emerging welfare states’, the governments provide pension, health facilities and other social sciences. In Argentina, the Government is spending more on welfare programmes. There are about 60 different welfare programmes not to just feed the impoverished peoples but with the aim that there will be upward mobility of the people. It offers a lot of benefits to those who lose their jobs. Pensions under two schemes enables men to get pension as they reach 65 and women at the age of 60. The disabled get separate pension. Women are given maternity benefits. The increased social spending by Argentina has been highlighted by the World Bank too. Children have benefitted from various schemes. Children from low-income families get allowances. The effort is to end poverty and share prosperity. Uruguay, often declared as South America’s first welfare state because it extended the welfare activities to health care, social security and public education. The increase in spending on children led to a decline in infant mortality. The state pension scheme was started in 1919. Yet, Uruguay is being called a , ‘Sick Welfare State,’ because of the endless strikes that have racked the country. There are some who call it a country on permanent strike. Too much of government interference has pushed the economy on sickly days. The strikes have wasted many man-hours and uncounted millions of dollars. Chile has transformed itself from an economy which was funded by government funding to one regulated by the market, subsidies and benefits. The schemes under President Allende were changed under Augusto Pinchot’s military junta that lasted till 1988 when the Chilean people rejected the latter in a plebiscite. The welfare spending in Chile is on the rise but keeping the globalised economy in view. The elite in BrazIl welcomed the welfare states steps to eliminate poverty for it was embarrassed by the big gap between the rich and the poor. President Linz Silva launched the social programmes in 2002. Children were sent to schools and were also vaccinated in the schools. The programme was known as ‘Bolsa Familia’ and it uplifted many and inequality was minimized to a great extent. People were given money by which their purchasing power increased. It took a record number of people from a situation where they did not get water, shoes or proper services to a life of dignity.. The critics of such spending say that it has driven the Brazilians to becoming consumerists and at a great risk to the environment.

In Argentina, the government supported large scale liberalization and privatization program in the mid-1990’s that seemed to benefit the country, but by 2002 the economy collapsed. The government became an example of a bad equilibrium in Argentina.

Welfare State in Africa

The liberal welfare state has not been able to make giant strides in Africa. Unlike Asia, Africa is lagging behind because of many factors. The market has failed to some extent but Africa’s dependence on foreign aid and on other actors, governmental as well as non-governmental is excessive. The State itself is weak and so is the market. Lack of political stability does not attract many players in Africa. Special interest groups capture power and dominate to fulfill their vested interests. The African state is soft and partial to the local elite and the other vested interests. Lack of initiatives has led to poor performance by the State that has led to poor performance by the state and has further led to poverty and un-employment. Lack of technical expertise also hinders international development. Poverty, ignorance and disease are ironically called the Holy Trinity and efforts are made to eradicate them. The first generation of nationalist leaders were committed to welfare activities but a period of lull followed. But at present, the new, young leadership talks about economic growth and expansion of welfare activities. In the past fragmented societies were the norm in Africa where there was less political participation and distribution of public goods. The local elites in conflict with each other captured all the benefits. It continues to some extent even these days.

One of reasons for lack of state action is that the colonial power drew the boundaries, making and carving new sovereign states but ‘geography’ is not the right way for making ‘states’ in a multi-ethnic society in Africa where ethnic identity is very strong and intense. The liberal welfare state can be more effective in Africa when the army, police are institutionalized , their powers are clearly demarcated and the judiciary becomes independent.

But Africa has embraced the concept of ‘welfare state’. Though the African National Congress was initially against hand-outs, yet it has tried to evolve into a party that talks pro-poor. In Africa, the State has undertaken and continues to take many housing initiatives. Health sector and education are public domain. The state believes in social assistance and not social insurance. Children have been receiving more assistance. There are special facilities for orphans. Old-age provisions are given , drought-relief is given while unemployment and hunger are serious issues in Africa. The State is endeavouring to minimise these. Antiretroviral drugs are provided to people and they are kept alive. Massive budgets are allocated to these drugs.

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Setting up public sector was emphasized in African countries in the last century but they are moving towards privatization because of the failure of public concerns. ‘Often countries like those in Africa with severe shortages of skilled human resources have tendered to put greater emphasis on public-sector activities and State-run enterprises on the assumption that limited skilled manpower can be best used by coordinating rather than fragmenting administrative and entrepreneurial activities.10 But the failure of the public concerns in countries like Kenya, Tanzania etc. have led to a thrust in privatatisation. There are many States in Africa that are called ‘failed states’ because the states have collapsed as they have not been able to control violence, remove corruption, provide infra-structure or invest in human capital.

Zambia has a population that is poor, more in the rural area. Malnutrition, poor health and education levels added to the woes. Agriculture was stagnant as Zambia’s policy was against agriculture, in the past, but now the government has started an aggressive stabilization programme. The government is fostering growth and reducing poverty. The government has initiated poverty surveys to point the problems.

Zambia is giving antiretroviral drugs to more than 70% of its people. Carrying on the agenda of social assistance are countries like Ethiopia and Malawi. Cash transfers also called social grants are on the cards. There is a shift from food-aid to cash transfers.

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Conclusion

The concept of welfare state has evolved in the last century in a big way. Resisted by those who would be ‘overtaxed’, it was welcomed by the majority classes who would benefit from the redistribution of resources. ‘But the beneficiaries – the majority classes, viewed it positively. And so, in fact, did the major political forces for it became the basis of the ‘post-war settlement’, the tacit agreement between the two major political forces so as to the basic political framework for post-war British society.11 All this led to new steps. ‘If the political reforms of the nineteenth century was the first step of reformism in modifying the liberal state, welfare was the second installment; the widening of ‘citizenship’ to include some social and economic rights and the end of strict laissez-faire – as well as a massive growth in the administrative state apparatus’.12 There are many advocates who feel that the market and the individual should be left alone. ‘There continued to be advocates of a minimal state among liberal theorists, however, notably von Hayek, the Austrian economist and social theorist. He saw the market as the sole way of co-coordinating human decisions and actions on a social basis which would secure efficiency and freedom.13 Yet the prevalent view is the need for a vibrant State that looks after its citizens. The State, in the developing countries, is playing a very active role in redistributing resources as well trying to promote social and economic equality. Besides, proving services, the State is also playing a pivotal role in initiating a variety of programmes. Thus, it is proving that the ‘………welfare state is fundamentally a multi-purpose institution.14 In a welfare state the

emphasis is to make the individual feel worthy of living. In the developing countries, though this task is herculean, yet the belief that has encouraged the governments is that, ‘a society that believes  in   distributing  welfare  equally  will  not  worry  much  about  how  much  resources individuals  get,but   whether  or  not  these  resources  are  instrumental  in  securing  for  each individual a level of satisfaction or happiness (whether in terms of pleasure or preference-fulfillment) equal to everyone else.   Under such a scheme, it is imperative that are  fulfill everyone’s  welfare  equally  irrespective  of  the  inequality  entailed  in  the  distribution  of Developing countries are in a state of uncertainty.  When a State decides to become   Stuart Hill, ‘The State in Question’, McLennan, Hill Herd (eds.), The Idea of the Modern State, 1993,Open University Press, Bristol, U.S.A. p. 12.

   A welfare state it means that the government promises to play a pivotal in promotion and protection of the well-being of its citizens. The governments in the developing countries are doing a fine job by stressing on the privileges of equality and an endeavour to distribute wealth equally. There are countries like Singapore that do not believe in a welfare state as they call handing out help as a ‘crutch economy’ yet they have pitched in to extend welfare services to the needy and the next. Many countries despite believing that handouts would make people indolent and dependent still spend on the people and this budget is increasing every day. In most the developing states, the welfare state is still in its embryonic stage but all set to grow. There are critics of the welfare state who say it makes the people lazy and slows down growth. That is the biggest challenge for the welfare states in developing countries. Take the case of India. ‘Governments create entitlements without willing the resources to fulfill them. Food security, health care, RTE were all created recently. But the food storage facilities, hospitals or schools lag behind. The result is massive dissatisfaction among people, only exploited by opposition parties…..’16 The welfare states have to balance between resources and their distribution.

In Africa, for example, economic and political development is at an impasse. There are a few who say that lack of imagination and lack of will to share has led to this impasse. The Continent is afflicted by poverty, diverse climate and poor soil facility as also by political corruption and instability. The way out of poverty, some say, is aid from external agencies. But again, the State is needed to monitor the aid and see to it that the benefits are distributed equally among the population. ‘Nevertheless, despite the obvious diversity of these countries, most developing nations share a set of common and well-defined goals. These include a reduction in poverty, inequality and unemployment; the provision of minimum levels of education, health, housing and food to every citizen; the broadening of economic and social opportunities and the forging of a cohesive nation-state’.17 That is why most of the developing countries have opted to be welfare states. The governments in the developing countries have realised that alongwith growth and development removing of poverty, diseases, unemployment and inequality are crucial tasks which need to be tackled fast, helping them to qualify as liberal, welfare states. A  liberal welfare state helps the citizens to live a life with dignity while enjoying their freedom. ‘It is for the welfare state to build the bridge which would enable the citizen to cross over from a state of degrading existence to a state of life which is ennobling and purposeful. The real function of the welfare state is to make possible, the enjoyment by the citizen of real freedom’. These words spoken by Mr. M.C. Chagla at the Mysore University Convocation in 1954 capture the essence of a liberal, welfare state.18

Suggested Readings

• Caramani, Daniele, Comparative Politics, 2011, Oxford University Press.
• Gauba, O.P. , An Introduction to To Political Theory, 2013,Macmillan, Delhi.
• Hague, Rod and Harrop, Martin, Comparative Govt. and Politics, An Introduction, 2015, Palgrave Macmillan, Replika, New Delhi.
• Harris B. Peter, Foundations of Political Science, 1976, Hutchinson, London.
• McKinnon, Catriona, Issues in Political Theory, 2012, Oxford University Press.
• Misra, K.K., Contemporary Political Theory, 1983, Pragati, Delhi.
• Andrew Heywood, Political Theory, An Introduction,2012, Palgrave Macmillan