Book Review: Rethinking Welfare and the Welfare State by Bent Greve
| Published date | 01 September 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/13882627231200743 |
| Author | Abhishek |
| Date | 01 September 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
Book Reviews
Bent Greve, Rethinking Welfare and the Welfare State. Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, 160 pp. 2022, ISBN:
978-1-80088-511-0
Reviewed by: Abhishek ,Jawaharlal Nehru University, India
DOI: 10.1177/13882627231200743
The history of the welfare state tells us that it did not emerge of its own accord, but in response to the
need created by economic and social changes that unfolded in Western Europe. The opposition
between different social groups and the need to reduce the risk of a social uprising by addressing
issues like accidents at work, sickness, unemployment and old age (later referred to as ‘old social
risks’) were the raison d’être of the welfare states. It gradually evolved, changed and readjusted in
step with the new economic challenges and/or opportunities, changes in the ideas and preferences
of the population, and new social risks such as family break-ups (p.50). Now, when the world is on
the cusp of great change again, old social risks are still present and playing ‘a significant role in the
individual’s perception and experience of what it takes to have a good life’(p.134), and even the
known new social risks are perhaps no longer the only elements we need to be aware of (p.1). It
becomes pertinent to rethink the welfare state by going back to fundamental issues. The book addresses
two of those fundamental issues. First it looks at the concept of welfare itself, which it defines as ‘the
highest possible access to economic resources, a high level of well-being, including happiness, of the
citizens, a guaranteed minimum income to avoid living in poverty, and, finally, having the capabilities
to ensure the individual a good life’(p.27). Second it asks how we would shape the welfare state today
if we were designing it to address the present and future challenges (p.2).
The book briefly but concisely discusses the history and evolution of the welfare state, which is
defined for the purpose of the book as ‘an institutionalized system where the actors the state,
market and civil society interact in various relations with the purpose of maximizing society’s
welfare function and where the degree of public involvement is sufficientlyhightobeabletocoun-
teract the consequences of market failure, including ensuring a guaranteedminimum income’(p.18).
It proposes dividing the EU 25 welfare states, which are used as core references inthe book, into six
typologies:Eastern European, Baltic, SouthernEuropean, Nordic, Continental and Liberal. However,
the aim is not to explain how we have ended up where we are, but to analyse the present and predict
the future by trying to understand the change in the expectations of the common people.
In analysing the pressures (demographic changes, globalisation, and financing) and challenges
(inequality and poverty, populism and welfare chauvinism) that welfare states are faced with and
most likely to be determined by in the future, Greve admits that prediction is a difficult task ‘as
the last 10–15 years have shown, the different crises have influenced not only societal development
but also preferences among citizensfor what is seen as important forsocieties to take care of’(p.100).
Book Reviews
European Journal of Social Security
2023, Vol. 25(3) 306–311
© The Author(s) 2023
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