Understanding Welfare State Theories: A Comparative Analysis
Understanding Welfare State Theories
Social Theory and the Resources of Power
Analyzes the impact of ideology on the development of the welfare state. This theory focuses on class mobilization and aims to measure the influence of ideology (of the elites, the mass of the ruling party, etc.) on the development of the welfare state, and other political variables such as the electoral system or the degree of corporatism.
Relevant explanatory variables include the location of the ruling party on the left-right spectrum, the way they articulate the participation of middle and lower classes in politics, i.e., the degree of organization of the labor movement and its power, which may be more or less institutionalized.
The welfare state is seen as the result of social and political struggles of the labor movement. This explains the high levels of welfare in the Scandinavian countries, thanks to the dominance of left-leaning parties.
Weaknesses:
- Distributive policies of social democratic governments may have limited impact.
- Relevant factors such as ethnicity, race, and religion are often overlooked.
- The influence of political factors and trade unions on the welfare state is not homogeneous and doesn’t fully explain pension expenditure growth.
- The influence of the ruling party on the welfare state is not homogeneous, as conservative or Christian Democrats have also led to expansions in social spending.
- It does not explain the behavior of the welfare state at certain historical times (e.g., the 1970s) when social spending declined.
Neo-Marxist Theory of the Welfare State
The welfare state is functional to the interests of the capitalist class, from an economic standpoint because it allows capital accumulation, and politically because it neutralizes class struggle by integrating the working class into the capitalist system. The state serves the interests of the ruling class, which is used to suppress working-class protest and ensure the survival of capitalism.
According to this theory, the welfare state has no ability to reduce social inequalities.
Weaknesses:
- It does not delve deeply into the root causes of the crisis of capitalism and state intervention.
- There is a lack of empirical evidence to support it.
- It marginalizes forms of protection such as family or NGOs.
- It does not explain similarities in welfare states between socialist and capitalist countries.
- It struggles to explain why social spending is low in countries like the USA, Japan, or Switzerland.
- It does not explain why social measures are implemented against the interests of the capitalist classes.
Corporatist Political Theories of Interest Groups
Pressure groups play an important role in articulating collective needs and translating them into public policy. They act outside the electoral process but may condition its outcome in the pursuit of their own interests, not only because they share a common interest (e.g., protection of agricultural prices, financial aid for victims of terrorism) but also because they could have their cause in some other form of prior involvement: volunteer groups, professional associations, etc.
The strength of these groups is related to the shared interest and the breadth of people affected by it.
Capturing the votes of these groups is of considerable interest from a political standpoint, as it is enough to persuade the leader of the group for its members to support the same proposal. Also, the influence of the group can be extended to other groups and voters.
If the group is numerically or economically important, it can contribute its financial resources to support policy options to defend its interests and, more subtly, provide voter information to guide their vote.
According to this theory, welfare spending is affected by:
- Economic and demographic changes.
- The existence of democratic institutions that facilitate the achievement of group interests.
- The growth of a number of social programs for their own benefit, funded by the whole population.
Thus, the welfare state may contribute to increasing inequality since the poor have less capacity for organization, making it difficult to defend their interests collectively.
This explains, for example, spending on the elderly (given the increased aging population).