ABSTRACT
A welfare state can be defined as form of social structure whereby a free market economy and a pluralistic democratic political structure guarantee certain welfare for the population. The term certain welfare implies a given minimum in the financial security. Education is usually also guaranteed by law in welfare states, and health care frequently is as well. The market and government are alternative mechanisms through which primary human needs. The market and government are alternative mechanisms through which primary human needs can be provided. Welfare states are the result of collective response to setbacks and calamities. The welfare state is by no means a closed chapter in social policy theory on developments in Western European countries. Functionalism studies societies as though they were biological organisms. In other words, functionalism is based on an organic analogy, the analogy between societies and organisms.
