ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the welfare mix, in order to depict the boundaries between the three central institutional providers of welfare in welfare states. It focuses on the balance between state and civil society. The chapter discusses families’ lives and roles in modern societies, including, for example, if having a close relative has an impact on daily life and whether the ability to have someone to talk with on important issues matters. Social capital is basic for societal cohesion and also the functioning of families and civil society. The balance between state, market and civil society is often labelled the welfare mix. The balance between the institutions of the state, the market and civil society has never been and will never be stable. Intergenerational issues are further an important aspect of welfare states, and this also includes whether one generation is prepared to pay for another generation’s welfare.
