ABSTRACT
The welfare state is regarded by Mr Piet Thoenes as 'a form of society characterised by a system of democratic, government-sponsored welfare placed on a new footing and offering a guarantee of collective social care to its citizens, concurrently with the maintenance of a capitalist system of production'. The welfare state accepts a modified form of capitalism but retains the two basic elements of private property and the profit motive. He even asserts that welfare activities are a necessary condition for the survival of the capitalist system. The ideas underlying the welfare state are derived from many different sources. From the French Revolution came notions of liberty, equality and fraternity. From the utilitarian philosophy of Bentham and his disciples came the idea of the greatest happiness of the greatest number. The expression welfare state was unknown to Leonard Hobhouse, but some of his ideas are highly relevant to an understanding of its nature.
