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This thoroughly original book provides a comprehensive overview of the development of welfare arrangements and their wider context in Western Europe. Using the concept of social modernity, Ingo Bode investigates current challenges to these arrangements and examines prospects for progressive welfare reform.

Adopting a sociological perspective, The Fate of Social Modernity dissects the complex layers of welfare agreements and assesses their potential for promoting socially balanced societies. Ingo Bode outlines how both public programmes and involved welfare organisations addressing children, disadvantaged workers, or elderly people may prompt yet also hamper processes of social development. He also explains how insights into social dynamics in European countries, such as Germany, Italy, Norway, and the UK, may contribute to a better understanding of problems and opportunities elsewhere in the world.

This foundational book is a crucial read for scholars in the fields of comparative social policy, sociological theory, and organization studies. It will also be of benefit to practitioners in public administration and non-profit sector studies seeking to better understand the chemistry of social development.