This was a recommendation from The Freedom Festival which I attended earlier this year, put on by The Freedom Association. The weekend was packed with lectures and then I was able to meet the author, James Bartholomew, at The Freedom Festival a few months later. Each chapter is dedicated to a different aspect of the welfare state in Britain and explains how provisions were made previous to the welfare state being introduced. It's a great history lesson and shows how each part of the welfare state could actually be provided by the private sector.
Style
Mostly easy to read although at times I felt the opinions of the author really came through, influencing and supporting the data rather than the conclusions being drawn from the data. Bartholomew writes in a conversational style that is easy to follow although at times the sheer amount of data and anecdote made the writing dense by necessity.
Content
Each chapter considered different aspects of the welfare state grouped around a general chapter heading. The chapter is usually introduced through the use of an anecdote which draws you into the chapter by asking you questions like 'What did Catherine of Aragon have to do with the origins of the welfare state'? while also addressing more general questions like 'Do welfare benefits cause unemployment?'
Other topics include the NHS (subtitled: like a train crash every day), Education, Housing, Parenting and Pensions. The last chapter is a very useful summary of the book while also drawing general conclusions over whether we should get rid of the welfare state altogether.
Conclusions
‘The Welfare State We're In’ was exceedingly interesting to read; I vaguely felt that the welfare state needed reforming before reading this but I wasn't at all aware of how much it had taken over from the private sector in previous years. Bartholomew presents data and anecdote together to form an interesting narrative and picture of Britain. I was quite convinced by the picture presented. However, straight after reading this I read Jack London's "The People of the Abyss" in which London goes tramping around the east end of London in 1902; before the welfare state was properly introduced. This made me realise that although Bartholomew is statistically correct when he says that people got along perfectly well before the welfare state London describes people sleeping six to a bed or people sleeping under and above the bed, or doing 'shifts' depending on the work schedule.
In summary: Very interesting book, excellent picture of how the welfare state doesn't need to exist in it's current state but best taken with a pinch of salt and another set of writings from the opposite perspective.
Usefulness
Very useful read if you're studying public sector economics or if you're looking for a solution to the expansion of government.
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