商品詳細

This book examines the ambivalent historical relationship of the labour movement and the state in mattes of social security and social policy. On the basis of historical research in Britain and the Netherlands, two basic premises about the development of European welfare states are being challenged: they developed slowly during the twentieth century, and mostly so in countries where the social democratic left has been a powerful political force. While it cannot be denied that their decisive development only started in the last two decades of the nineteenth century, it is argued that welfare states built upon older traditions of self help and social policy. From its start the labour movement, especially the trade unions, aimed at the protection of workers against the risks of life and labour in industrial society. But if the labour movement tried to mitigate the risks, it was not generally inclined to look at the stat as the guardian angel in social security. For different reasons working class organizations by no means supported national legislation in this field unanimously. Neither in Britain nor in the Netherlands the initiative for legislation came from social democratic parties. In both countries, trade unions, which were able to offer their members insurances were reluctant to surrender this task to the state. As a consequence, it is argued that the role of the Labour Parties in the construction of welfare states in both countries is more complex than commonly assumed.