ABSTRACT
One of the curiosities of modern times is that in the United States the word welfare has come to stand for something that is widely disliked. Social welfare is a somewhat technical term employed by a relatively small number of people: government officials, social planners, social workers, social scientists, and others who work to understand and solve problems of poverty and other social problems. Need is implied in any conception of social welfare. A standard of living is one way of measuring needs—needs that can be satisfied through economic means. Like charity, public welfare is a modality of social welfare that is directed to significantly disabled or otherwise disadvantaged members of society. Public welfare includes public assistance, and also various services to certain categories of disabled and disadvantaged people. From a central focus upon the poor, social welfare activities have expanded to take in more and more categories of people.
