ABSTRACT
This chapter argues, in terms of both the specific goals of particular services and of broader criteria, that the growth of statutory services in the past two decades has brought only limited returns. In the fifteen years under review public expenditure on education increased in real terms just over two times and in relation to the gross national product (GNP) went up from 3.6 to 6.4 per cent. Social security has a place in the present discussion on account of the large share of public expenditure on the social services absorbed by it. The British population is well housed in comparison with other European countries, and this is an important and favourable reflection on postwar housing policies. A substantial increase in freedom would come about by extending the private sector and improving the terms on which individuals can opt out of statutory services; but this would be at the expense of equality.
