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JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH

health service, an adequate state pension, family allowances and
near-full employment” (Judt, 2010: 74-75).

3.3 “Welfare state” and “power state”

There is no single precise definition of what a welfare state is.

Even the origin of the term itself is still debated. Numerous
historians agree that the term goes back to the Archbishop of
York William Temple.

The Anglican prelates Archbishop of

Canterbury William Cosmo Gordon Lang and Archbishop of
York William Temple, together with the Roman Catholic
Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Hinsley and the Moderator
of the Free Church Federal Council Walter H. Armstrong all
signed a letter to the editor of The Times entitled Foundations
for Peace: a Christian Basis, Agreement among the Churches.
They endorsed “The Pope’s Five Peace Points”, which Pope Pius
XII raised in his Christmas Address broadcasted from the
Vatican on 24

December 1939. The Pope requested “the

assurance to all nations of their right to life and independence”,
emphasising “the will of one nation to live must never mean the
sentence of death passed upon another. When this equality of
rights has been destroyed, attacked, or threatened, order demands
that reparation shall be made, and the measure and extent of that
reparation is determined, not by the sword nor by the arbitrary
decision of self-interest, but by the rules of justice and reciprocal
equity.” That required, in his opinion, “that the nations be
delivered from the slavery imposed upon them by the race for
armaments and from the danger that material force, instead of
serving to protect the right, may become an over-bearing and
tyrannical master. The order thus established requires a mutually
agreed organic progressive disarmament, spiritual as well as
material, and security for the effective implementing of such an
agreement.” He also pointed out the importance of certain
juridical institutions “which shall guarantee the loyal and faithful
fulfilment of conditions agreed upon and which shall in case of
recognized need revise and correct them.” Incentives to violent
action would be removed by acknowledging the rights of
nations, populations and racial minorities, which would
eventually lead to the renewal of basic mutual trust. The Pope
appealed to nations and their leaders that they should adopt a
responsible attitude towards the human rights which uphold the
“sacred and inviolable standards of the laws of God. They must
hunger and thirst after justice and be guided by that universal
love which is the compendium and most general expression of
the Christian ideal” (Discorso di Sua Santità Pio XII al Sacro
Collegio e alla Prelatura Romana, December 24, 1939; see The
Role of Religion in Post-War Reconstruction, 1943: 123-124).

Striving to establish permanent peace, the representatives of the
three abovementioned churches in England added five more
points to the appeal of Pope Pius XII. These points focused on
the economic and social spheres. They requested removing
“extreme inequality in wealth and possessions”, providing equal
education of all children regardless of race or class, safeguarding
the “family as a social unit”, restoring the spiritual dimension of
daily work, and using the resources of the Earth as “God’s gifts
to the whole human race” and doing so with “due consideration
for the needs of the present and future generations” (see
Foundations of Peace: A Christian Basis, Agreement Among the
Churches, Letters to the Editor. The Times, December 21 1940,
in The Role of Religion in Post-War Reconstruction, 1943).
Archbishop William Temple set in opposition the terms “welfare
state” and “power state”, pointing out Britain’s preoccupation
with providing aid in the most delicate aspects of social life
contrasted with Nazi Germany’s preoccupation with war; this
comparison emphasised the ethical dimension and cultural
values of the welfare state. William Temple welcomed the

The name “welfare state” itself implies that it should be a state of prosperity, striving

to achieve “the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.” Translations
from other European languages show that the concept is also spoken about as a “social
state”, “providing state” (or “state of Providence), and a state which provides “public
social services.” The word “welfare” is also used in phrases such as “public welfare”
(social support funded by tax income), “private welfare” (social provisions of non-
governmental bodies), and “social welfare” (see Štrauss, 2005; Tomeš, 1996: 21).

William Temple was Archbishop of York (1929–1942) and Archbishop of

Canterbury (1942–1944).

Beveridge Report because it corresponded with the Christian
ethic.

The idea of a welfare state also inspired several post-war

Christian intellectuals and politicians, according to whom it was
in accordance with the principles of Christian social teaching
(Human dignity, Solidarity, Subsidiarity, Common good).

The Beveridge system provided a summary of principles
necessary to banish poverty and its ambition was to included all
citizens. It was primarily funded from the state budget, which
was criticized by some liberal economists, especially the already
mentioned F. A. Hayek. Between 1940 and 1943 Hayek worked
on the book The Road to Serfdom first published in Britain by
Routledge in March 1944 (see Hayek, 1944). In this book Hayek
asserted that economic freedom and political freedom are linked
and that peace can be preserved only through economic liberty.
Unlike the Beveridge Report, The Road to Serfdom had only
been a small success in post-war Britain and much better was
sold in the United States.

According to Beveridge: "The Plan for Social Security is put
forward as something that could be in operation in the
immediate aftermath of the war" ((Social Insurance and Allied
Services, 1942: 17). The Beveridge Report laid the foundation of
post-war social policy in Britain, including the provision of
family allowances, comprehensive social insurance, and health
care coverage.

His proposals practically influenced the

evolution of welfare system in much of Western European

countries" (Ştefan, 2015: 28).

4 Conclusion

In a democratic Europe, there has never been a coherent model
of a social state. But the trust in democracy and its institutions is
very narrowly connected with the issue of the living conditions
of citizens.

"The social rights, income security, equalization,

and eradication of poverty that a universalistic welfare state
pursues are necessary precondition for the strength and unity that
collective power mobilization demands" (Esping-Andersen,
1990: 16). This issue belongs in the set of activities defining

social policy as a central subject (see Martinkovič, 2016: 50).
This is also evidenced by historical experiences with the
existence of totalitarian regimes who came to power during the
Great Depression of the 1930s. The Nazis gained popularity in
Germany also with their social policy and at the international
level they presented themselves as the "New Order of Europe".
However, during World War II the term "New Order" changed
its meaning several times.

After the fall of France, when it seemed that Britain could
remain alone in the war conflict with Germany, British
politicians realized that they could not underestimate social
issues either. Representatives of Christian churches in Britain
also took part in the ideological struggle against Germany, and
the leader in the ecumenical movement, Archbishop William
Temple contributed to the popularization of the term "welfare
state". After the war, almost all European democracies
recognized the welfare state "as an essential institution which
aims to ensure a relatively decent life for its citizens" (Social
Insurance and Allied Services, 1942: 30). At the end of 1942
William Beveridge prepared an important report for the British
Parliament.

The Beveridge report was presented as a key

instrument of radical social security reforms and gained quite
wide admiration in post-war Western Europe.

In the 1950s and 1960s Hayek's book inspired few readers. Margaret Thatcher did

read his book already in 1944, "but its impact on her was minimal". In 1974, Hayek
was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics. At that time Thatcher "re-read" his book
on the recommendation of Keith Joseph. In 1974, Joseph and Thatcher founded the
Center for Politics, one of Britain's leading free market think tanks, which had a
significant influence on conservative politics known as "Thatcherism". (see Aitken,
2013: 52).

The Beveridge Report is seen as the foundation document for the welfare state

created by the post-war Clement Attlee's Labour government.

"Much comparative welfare state research in the social sciences has focused on the

details of social insurance scheme in particular. A close analysis of the historical
development of social insurance helps to reveal the complexity of these arrangements,
and the ways in which they differed across national contexts" (Hilson, 2008: 100).

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