Abstract
As the quotation marks in our title imply, we are not certain that the concept of solidarity is genuinely a part of the normative background to social welfare provision in the United Kingdom. In this essay we search for the philosophical roots of the modern welfare state in the centuries of debate in Britain about the relative rights and duties of states and individuals, as these relate to broad conceptions of social justice. It is possible to see an ethical ideal emerging in different forms, in which the interests of individuals and the society coalesce in a shared enterprise of promoting social welfare and personal freedom. However, only towards the end of the Twentieth Century has this been expressed in social solidaristic terms, and even then we must question whether this is a genuine change from the traditionally liberal forms of British social theory. In short, our essay is a search with a negative, or at best uncertain, outcome. This is not to decry the major achievements of social welfare provision in the latter half of the last century, but we believe nonetheless that ideals of solidarity have been at best only partially achieved.
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Campbell, A., Jones, S. (2001). The Historical and Philosophical Background of ‘Solidarity’ in UK Social Welfare. In: ter Meulen, R., Arts, W., Muffels, R. (eds) Solidarity in Health and Social Care in Europe. Philosophy and Medicine, vol 69. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9743-2_18
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9743-2_18
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