Overview
- This is the authoritative study on the development of the concept of social policy from 1840-2000
- Relates changes in conceptual thinking to changes in politics
- A major contribution to the history of social science
- Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
Part of the book series: German Social Policy (GSP, volume 1)
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Table of contents (2 chapters)
Keywords
About this book
The book traces the political history of the concept of social policy. „Social policy“ originated in Germany in the mid 19th century as a scholarly term that made a career in politics. The term became more prominent only after World War II. Kaufmann, the doyen of the sociology of social policy in Germany, argues that „social policy“ responds to the modern disjunction between “state” and “society” diagnosed by the German philosopher Hegel. Hegel’s disciple Lorenz von Stein saw social policy as a means to pacify the capitalist class conflict. After World War II, social policy expanded in an unprecedented way, changing its character in the process. Social policy turned from class politics into a policy for the whole population, with new concepts – like "social security", "redistribution" and "quality of life" - and new overarching formulas, "social market economy" and "social state" (the German version of “welfare state”). Both formulas have remained indeterminate and contested, indicating the inherent openness of the idea of the “social”.
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Franz-Xaver Kaufmann is Professor emeritus for Social Policy and Sociology at the University of Bielefeld, Germany. He studied law, economics and sociology in Zurich, St. Gall and Paris. He is the doyen of the sociology of social policy in Germany and has been awarded honorary doctorates and prizes, including the Preller Prize for Social Policy and the Schader Prize for Applied Social Science.
Lutz Leisering, the Editor, is Professor for Social Policy and Director at the Institute for World Society studies, University of Bielefeld. He took his Ph.D. at the London School of Economics. He has published widely on European and global social policy.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Thinking About Social Policy
Book Subtitle: The German Tradition
Authors: Franz-Xaver Kaufmann
Series Title: German Social Policy
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-19501-3
Publisher: Springer Berlin, Heidelberg
eBook Packages: Business and Economics, Economics and Finance (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-642-19500-6Published: 15 November 2012
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-642-43342-9Published: 14 December 2014
eBook ISBN: 978-3-642-19501-3Published: 15 November 2012
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: X, 166
Additional Information: Translated from the German. Originally published as: "Geschichte der Sozialpolitik in Deutschland seit 1945" by Nomos Publishers, 2001.
Topics: Social Policy, Political Science, History, general