| Description |
viii, 224 pages ; 24 cm |
| Contents |
1. 'Virtue' and the poor law in Britain and Ireland in the 1830s -- 2. Spencer and a liberal road to welfare : the eclipse of a vision -- 3. Free agent or 'conscious automaton'? : the individual in Spencer's social theory -- 4. The case of older people : social thought and divergent prescriptions for care -- 5. Social policy and idealist versus non-idealist thought : the fundamental schism -- 6. Idealist thought, social policy and the rediscovery of informal care -- 7. Social theory and voluntary action in Britain since 1880 -- 8. Epilogue : from poor law to Labour's 'new idealism' |
| Summary |
"Drawing on recent historical research, this book: reconsiders and challenges many long-held beliefs about the 'evolution' of social policy; presents a wide-ranging reappraisal of links between social theories and changes in social policy; pays particular attention to the importance of idealist social thought as an intellectual framework for understanding the 'welfare state'; and has a distinctive focus on the importance of ideas in the history of social policy." "The book provides a valuable framework that exposes many of the assumptions about the nature of 'welfare' and its future direction, making it important reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students, and researchers in the field of social policy."--BOOK JACKET |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 197-213) and index |
| Subject |
Public welfare -- Great Britain -- History.
|
| SUBJECT |
Great Britain -- Social policy.
http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh90001105
|
| LC no. |
2006389866 |
| ISBN |
1861345305 (cased) |
|
1861345313 (paperback) |
|
9781861345301 |
|
9781861345318 |
|
