ABSTRACT
The welfare state proved essential to the social peace, legitimacy and political stability of democratic capitalist countries in the second half of the twentieth century, the culmination of centuries-long modernization processes of state-building, nationbuilding and democratization (Rokkan, 1975). Yet from its early days onward welfare state intervention has been subject to political conflict concerning issues of how to allocate the burden of its financing, and how to distribute benefits. Within public welfare discourse, issues of normative justification are relevant for all groups which attempt to establish legitimate needs and jostle for their ‘fair’ share of welfare benefits (Fraser, 1989). Given the recent and ongoing reconstruction of many Western welfare states, the issue of sustainable justice – combining financial sustainability with a set of normative principles that do justice to societal needs and are able to attract lasting public support – promises to remain high on the political agenda.
