Question

how did AR desai define the concept of a welfare state ?​

Answer 1

Answer:

A.R. Desai concludes that the nation of the welfare state is the something of a myth. Desai also favours maintenance of political freedom, equality and some other democratic norms and values even under communalism. He strongly argues that political liberties and the race of law must be upheld in the genuinely socialist states.

Desai criticism of the claims made by welfare state : The modern capitalist state was one of the significant therms that interested A.R. Desai. As always, his approach to this issue was from a Marxist perspective. In any essay called “The myth of the welfare state”,Desai provides a detailed critique of this notion and points to it many shortcomings. After considering the prominent definitions available in the sociological literature, Desai identifies the following unique features of the welfare state :

(i) A welfare state is a positive state. This means that unlike the ‘laissez faire’ of classical liberal political theory, the welfare state does not seek to do ‘only the minimum necessary to maintain law and order. The welfare state is an interventionist state and actively uses its considerable powers to design and implement social policies for the betterment of society.

(ii) Democracy as an essential condition : The welfare state is a democratic state. Democracy was considered an essential conditions for the emergence of the welfare state. Formal democratic institutions, specially multiparty elections, were thought to be a defining feature of the welfare state. This is why liberal thinkers excluded socialist and communist states from this definition.

(iii) Followers of mixed economy (private as well as public sectors are allowed to work simultaneously) : A welfare state involves a mixed economy. A ‘mixed economy’ means an economy where both private capitalist enterprises and state or public owned enterprises co-exist. A welfare state does not seek to eliminate the capitalist market, nor does it prevents public investement in indusry and other fields. By and large, the state sector concentrates on basic goods and social infrastructure, while private industry dominates the consumer goods sector.

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