ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies three elements which seem likely to influence the future relationship between freedom and welfare in the society. These elements are really no more than constellations of attitudes; but they have come to form separate and recognisable traditions which have run through society like underground streams, coming to the surface in politics, in literature, in philosophy or in everyday life. Each of these traditions has a history of its own, sometimes expressed in an extreme crystallisation of values at a certain point in time, sometimes in more subtle, long-term and subterranean influences upon people and events. The expressions of these three traditions are, first, the new conservative political philosophy; second, the libertarian ideology and lifestyle; and third, the new role of social work as part of a strategy for dealing with social problems. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
