Liberalism's Decline and the Threat to the Welfare State.

LIBERALISM; WELFARE economics; ECONOMIC policy; SOCIAL policy; POVERTY; MEDICAL care

In a previous article [Social Work, 35 (January 1990), pp. 41-45], the author discussed the threat from the political Right to the consensus that sustains the welfare state. In this companion article, he addresses the threat to the welfare state posed by the decline in the vigor of liberalism. Twentieth-century liberalism has declined because it has failed to maintain a realistic perspective on the role of the state, lost its moral basis for action, and lost touch with its primary constituency. Liberalism's drift has left the public social policy arena to the Right and has hampered efforts to devise realistic solutions to serious social problems like chronic poverty and the escalating cost of medical care. To offer a serious challenge to the Right, liberals must develop more realistic expectations about the role of the state in human affairs; find a moral vision; and regain empathy with, and the loyalty of, their primary constituency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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