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“The Origins of the Welfare State: Global and Comparative Approaches,” Volume 3 (2016)

Introduction

This volume of Zapruder World focuses on the global and comparative history of the welfare state. The articles in this third volume fit squarely into the philosophy of our action-oriented journal. They aim not only to interact with historiographical debates or to merely question aspects of mainstream literature on the topic, but they also seek to interrogate the welfare state in order to map the terrain with an eye to action and political alternatives.

We all face the dominance of neoliberal ideologies in our daily lives, seeing the consequences of attacks against public programs in areas such as health, education, income-transfers, housing, etc. Moreover, as scholars, we aim to consciously denaturalize “liberal thought,” which consistently downplays the role of welfare legislation and institutions. At the same time, we have sought to avoid any celebratory language regarding the welfare state in itself. By advocating for a critical appraisal of history as a space for conflict, this volume of Zapruder World challenges liberal-conciliatory descriptions of the past. We believe that an open debate on the origins of the welfare state, as well as a greater awareness of the transformations of both the notion of the welfare state and its material organization, provide the necessary standpoint to critically reconsider its role for the future.

Finally, the articles in this volume challenge the dominant focus on the “crisis” of the welfare state, inviting scholars and activists to reflect on the many alternatives offered by the welfare state in responding to the needs of people in different geographical locations and at different historical periods.

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Stefano Agnoletto, Brian J Griffith, and Cristina Palmieri, eds.


Overcoming Barriers to Voluntary Servitude: Positive Thinking and Self-Help, the (Post-Political) Ideology of Workfare
Christian Garland


South Korea as a Semi-Peripheral Workfare State
Su-Dol Kang


Pre-Histories of Revolutionary Nationalism and the Welfare State: Corocoro, Bolivia (1918-1930)
Elena McGrath


Between State-Led Unions and Self-Organization: Chinese Workers in the Global Crisis
Paolo Rizzi


Apartheid as the Genesis of Welfarism: Contrasting Perspectives on Education Policies for Advancing European Interests in South Africa and Zimbabwe
Mark Malisa


The Welfare State Decline and the Rise of Neoliberalism since the 1980s: Some Approaches between Latin America’s Core and Peripheral Countries
Fabiane Santana Previtali, Cílson César Fagiani, and Carlos Lucena


The U.S. Welfare State: Rise, Fall, and Beyond
Guglielmo Carchedi


Human Rights and the Welfare State: An Exploratory History of Social Rights in the Postwar Netherlands
Paul van Trigt


By and Beyond “Organised Motherhood”: Feminist Politics and the Emerging German Welfare State
Susanne Maurer


Capturing the Welfare State Moment
Cory Verbauwhede

 

Volume Resources

Yesterday
Digital scholarly resources, archival links, images and more related to the topic of this volume.


Today
Global and local organizations, movements, and networks inspired by the traditions explored in this volume.