The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism

Few discussions in modern social science have occupied as much attention as the changing nature of welfare states in Western societies. The author here provides a new analysis of the character and role of welfare states in the functioning of contemporary advanced Western societies. The author distinguishes three major types of welfare state, connecting these with variations in the historical development of different Western countries. He argues that current economic processes, such as those moving toward a postindustrial order, are shaped not by autonomous market forces but by the nature of states and state differences.