ABSTRACT
In making sense of one's own life it is for the individual to consider and transform the multiplicity of personal experiences into some ordered unity of thought and action. With regard to the State making the rules, it was for the State to 'ensure to individuals the maximum of freedom and responsibility'. On the contrary, this was a special feature of British public life. Beveridge followed this — and many will find this a surprising echo. Beveridge did not expect there to be any doubt about the value of these motives, or of the organisations which embodied them. He himself called for political invention to find new forms of fruitful co-operation between public authorities and voluntary agencies. These included — and should now include again — those organisations of mutual-aid that were formed in order to secure voluntary exchange in the competitive marketplace, on behalf of their subscribing members.
