Support for the American Welfare State: The Views of Congress and the Public. (book reviews)

American Political Science Review, September, 1993 by Piven, Frances Fox

The United States is, it is widely agreed, something of a welfare state laggard. Social policies were inaugurated later here than in many other western countries, they remained smaller, and they suffered more during the attack the welfare state that unfolded in the 1980s. Both of these books attempt to cast light on aspects of this distinctive American welfare state politics.

Fay Cook's and Edith Barrett's useful book examines the contemporary politics of the U.S. welfare state through the lens of public opinion. They interpret the much-declared crisis of the welfare state as a crisis of legitimacy. Hence the reality of the crisis can best be explored by means of data on popular and elite attitudes. They report on two surveys undertaken in 1986, one consisting...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Premium Content Partnership | HighBeam Research provides an in-depth online archive library of reference works.