The Possibility of Politics: A Study in the Political Economy of the Welfare State

Ringen views the welfare state as a large-scale experiment in political reform, and argues that to ask if the welfare state works is to ask if political reform is possible at all. This is because by its nature, the welfare state is reform on a grand scale, for it attempts to change the circumstances individuals and families live under without changing and disrupting society itself. But is it realistic to believe this can be accomplished? Can a population can get together, set goals and then try to meet these goals through collective actions, specifically public policies, without causing unintended consequences and destroying the state in the process?

Stein Ringen is professor of sociology and social policy at Oxford University and a Fellow of Green College