ABSTRACT
One possible reaction to both disillusionment and criticism is to point out that much of it is exaggerated or misplaced. The Welfare State provides welfare not only for its nominal beneficiaries but also for those who work for it. Economic growth made it possible to finance improvements in the Welfare State while also permitting private consumption to increase: the dividends of economic growth could be shared out among various competing societal aims in an exercise from which everyone emerged as winner—so easing the problem of coercion. Specifically, the Left-and the central tradition of social policy thinking which found its inspiration in works of Titmuss-tended to stress the damaging side-effects of economic growth: the fact that the Welfare State had to cope with the social dislocation, ill-health and the casualties generated by the industrial system. In thinking about the future of the Welfare State it is therefore essential to contemplate the possibility that the age of economic growth may be over.
