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A welfare state is a concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those unable to avail themselves of the minimal provisions for a good life. The general term may cover a variety of forms of economic and social organization.〔(Welfare state ), Britannica Online Encyclopedia〕 The sociologist T.H. Marshall described the modern welfare state as a distinctive combination of democracy, welfare, and capitalism.〔Marshall, T H. Citizenship and Social Class: And Other Essays. Cambridge (University Press, 1950 ). Print.〕 Modern welfare states include the Nordic countries, such as Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland〔Paul K. Edwards and Tony Elger, ''The global economy, national states and the regulation of labour'' (1999) p, 111〕 which employ a system known as the Nordic model. Esping-Andersen classified the most developed welfare state systems into three categories; Social Democratic, Conservative, and Liberal.〔Esping-Andersen (1990); for a revision of his typology see Ferragina and Seeleib-Kaiser (2011).〕 The welfare state involves a transfer of funds from the state, to the services provided (i.e., healthcare, education, etc.), as well as directly to individuals ("benefits"). It is funded through redistributionist taxation and is often referred to as a type of "mixed economy".〔"Welfare state." Encyclopedia of Political Economy. Ed. Phillip Anthony O'Hara. Routledge, 1999. p. 1245〕 Such taxation usually includes a larger income tax for people with higher incomes, called a progressive tax. This helps to reduce the income gap between the rich and poor.〔Pickett and Wilkinson, ''The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better'', 2011〕〔''(The Economics of Welfare )''| Arthur Cecil Pigou〕〔Andrew Berg and Jonathan D. Ostry, 2011, "(Inequality and Unsustainable Growth: Two Sides of the Same Coin?" ) IMF Staff Discussion Note SDN/11/08, International Monetary Fund〕 ==Etymology== The German term ''Sozialstaat'' ("social state") has been used since 1870 to describe state support programs devised by German ''Sozialpolitiker'' ("social politicians") and implemented as part of Bismarck's conservative reforms.〔S. B. Fay, 'Bismarck's Welfare State', ''Current History'': XVIII (January 1950): 1-7.〕 The literal English equivalent "social state" didn't catch on in Anglophone countries until the Second World War, when Anglican Archbishop William Temple, author of the book ''Christianity and the Social Order'' (1942), popularized the concept using the phrase "welfare state."〔.〕 Bishop Temple's use of "welfare state" has been connected to Benjamin Disraeli's 1845 novel ''Sybil: or the Two Nations'' (i.e., the rich and the poor), which speaks of "the only duty of power, the social welfare of the PEOPLE.'"〔''Sybil'', p. 273, quoted in Michael Alexander, ''Medievalism: The Middle Ages in Modern England'' (Yale University Press), p. 93.〕 At the time he wrote ''Sybil'', Disraeli, later Prime Minister, belonged to Young England, a conservative group of youthful Tories who disagreed with how the Whig dealt with the conditions of the industrial poor. Members of Young England attempted to garner support among the privileged classes to assist the less fortunate, and to recognize the dignity of labor that they imagined had characterized England during the Feudal Middle Ages.〔Alexander, ''Medievalism'', pp. xxiv–xxv, 62, 93, and passim.〕 The Italian term ''stato sociale'' ("social state") reproduces the German term. The Swedish welfare state is called ''Folkhemmet'' — literally, "folk home", and goes back to the 1936 compromise between Swedish trade unions and large corporations. Sweden's mixed economy is based on strong unions, a robustly funded system of social security, and universal health care. In Germany, the term ''Wohlfahrtsstaat'', a direct translation of the English "welfare state", is used to describe Sweden's social insurance arrangements. Spanish and many other languages employ an analogous term: ''estado del bienestar''— literally, "state of well-being". In Portuguese, two similar phrases exist: ''estado do bem-estar social'', which means "state of social well-being", and ''estado de providência''— "providing state", denoting the state's mission to ensure the basic well-being of the citizenry. In Brazil, the concept is referred to as ''previdência social'', or "social providence". 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Welfare state」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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