ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the idea of liberal welfare states at a time when neoliberal ideas are seen to be a major influence on social policy. Some critiques of Esping-Andersen's work have related to his methods, and in particular to the variables he selected and the construction of the decommodification indexes and regimes, and the impact these have on the identification of regimes. Other criticisms have been more directly specific to the concern with liberal welfare regimes, and these have been both empirical and theoretical. One further potential criticism is the very use of the term 'liberal' by Esping-Andersen. As an ideology, liberalism may arguably best be understood as reflecting a broad tradition of thought, rather than as a fixed set of beliefs. Despite some of the criticisms of the narrow range of policy areas in Esping-Andersen's original work, others have argued that broadening the scope of analysis beyond income support can still produce broadly similar findings.
