Thursday, May 02, 2013

The Welfare State vs. The Family

Today, the welfare state provides a great number of services that in former times have been provided by families (and which would, we may assume, still be provided to a large extent by families if the welfare state ceased to exist). Education of the young, care for the elderly and the sick, assistance in times of emergencies—all of these services are today effectively “outsourced” to the state. The families have been degraded into small production units that share utility bills, cars, refrigerators, and of course the tax bill. The tax-financed welfare state then provides them with education and care.
How true! This and more in the very well written and informative book, The Ethics of Money Production. My favorite: The families have been degraded into small production units that share utility bills, cars, refrigerators, and of course the tax bill.