The Welfare State: Key Concepts and Dimensions | Reading Reflection

Running head: READING REFLECTION
Reading Reflection
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1READING REFLECTION
Introduction
Aiming to understand the key concepts related to Welfare State, the paper will reflect
upon the chief ideas presented in the article titled “The Welfare State: A Fundamental
Dimension of Modern Government” by David Garland. The following paragraphs will argue
that the article strives to enhance the idea of a ‘Welfare State’ (Garland, 2014). The reflective
paper will endeavour to delve deeper into the various aspects of the article, thereby,
generating a critical perspective upon the idea of the author.
Discussion
A closer examination of the said article will reveal that the author has strived to define
Welfare State. The article also sheds light on the five sectors related to welfare governance
(Garland, 2014). It can be reflected that the article follows an unconventional manner of
presenting the inherent contradictions in Welfare State. The argument presented by the article
about the necessity of welfare state can be linked to the ideas of the importance of a Welfare
State. According to Garland (2014), Welfare Sate rests on the idea of Welfare State as being a
part of governmental activities that discharges innumerable roles. The author moves on to
define the dimensions if welfare state. One of the key concepts that are introduced is the
concept of the means that are employed by Welfare Sate to achieve the desired goals in
society. What strikes moist about the article is that it introduces the concept of the employed
rationalities and techniques. Recent studies also depict that the social policies are inherently
political and human in nature (Bessant et al., 2006). Likewise, the concept of social Welfare
State is a form of a governmental enterprise that involves socialization.
The article also introduces another key concept and dimension of the limitations that
are faced by Welfare Sates. It is seen that Welfare State is often confined to the bounds of the

2READING REFLECTION
welfare state for the poor, Welfare State for various social services. The broadest definition of
Welfare State is seen in its definition, which relates to its operation at the economic level.
However, it is argued that these areas are important in forming a Welfare State. A closer
examination of the political economy theory will project that there is a prevalence of social
and economic clashes amongst various social class (QI, 2019). Another theoretical
perspective of Fabian Socialism mentions that Welfare State is relevant in bringing
transformation to the society by redistribution of wealth (QI, 2019). Theoretical perspectives
of Liberalism emphasizes on the notion that the role of the State is minimal in providing
welfare. It can be said that the above-mentioned article provides a different perspective that
harps upon the role of the government. Thus, it can be mentioned that the article strives to
reinforce the central idea related to Welfare State.
Thus, it can be said that the article introduces ad elaborates the dimensions of
‘Welfare States’. It can also be said that the article strives to shed light on certain important
areas of Welfare State.
In addition to this, it is seen that the article sheds light on the key social concepts ad
themes (Garland, 2014). The articles shed light on the of social welfare institutions. The
sociological idea of social insurance is one of the most integral parts of a Social Welfare
government. The legal impositions of social security in UK and US serve the function of
insuring the lives of others (Garland, 2014). Secondly, the sociological theme of Social
Assistance is also ushered by the article. However, this ideology has been overthrown due to
certain factors. The article also throws light on the sociological theme of social rights and
public services. This refers to the manner in which the public can access the basic facilities
and amenities of life in the social setting. Thus, the article is a persuasive one and depicts the
social concept of employee rights as is depicted in the section where the author speaks about