Nostalgia narratives? Pejorative attitudes to welfare in historical perspective: survey evidence from Beveridge to the British Social Attitudes Survey

Hudson, John Robert; Lunt, Neil; Hamilton, Charlotte; MacKinder, Sophia Constance; Swift, Chelsea; Meers, Jed

doi:10.1332/175982716x14721954315002

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Some commentators argue that a concern with the deservingness of welfare recipients is a distinguishing feature of the neoliberal era and its attack on the welfare state. The evidence suggests, however, that a concern with deservingness has been a stable feature of public opinion in the West, even during the postwar heyday of the social-democratic building of the welfare state (Hudson et al, 2016), and that a similar ‘deservingness culture’ can be found in both liberal and social-democratic welfare states (van Oorschot, 2006). Indeed, some researchers suggests that a ‘deservingness heuristic’ is innate in humans – a product of our evolutionary history (Aaroe and Petersen, 2014; Petersen, 2012).…”

Section: Previous Research and Our Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shared Membership Beyond National Identity: Deservingness and Solidarity in Diverse Societies

et al. 2021

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Liberal nationalists argue that identification with the nation promotes feelings of mutual obligation, including support for redistribution. Existing attempts to test this hypothesis have focused on whether the higher sense of national identity among the majority increases support redistribution. We argue for a twofold shift in focus. First, beyond the majority’s own national identity, we need to explore their perceptions of whether minorities share this identity. Second, we need to shift from one-dimensional ideals of ‘identity’ to more complex ideas of attachment and commitment. Do members of the majority view minorities as committed to the nation and willing to make sacrifices for it? Drawing on a custom-designed online survey in Canada, we show that three salient out-groups (Aboriginal peoples, French-speaking Canadians and immigrants) are seen by majority respondents as less committed to Canada, and that this is a powerful predictor of support for general and inclusive redistribution.

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Section: Previous Research and Our Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shared Membership Beyond National Identity: Deservingness and Solidarity in Diverse Societies

et al. 2021

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“…Wedderburn (: 516) argued this showed ‘the concept of the “deserving” and “undeserving” poor is still very much alive’. Deserving/undeserving stereotypes (van Oorschot ; Hudson and Lunt et al ) could certainly be found in other survey responses; of those who felt too much was being spent on a social service, ‘National Assistance is too easy’ was the most common reason given (17 per cent), while around 10 per cent cited that family allowance ‘wasn't spent on children’ and a similar proportion saying ‘parents should subsidize their own children’ (Wiseman ). By contrast, ‘OAPs need more money’ was the most common reason given (27 per cent) by those who felt more money needed to be spent (Wiseman ).…”

Section: Attitudes To Welfare In the 1960smentioning

confidence: 92%

“…More specifically, there may be a danger that a ‘golden age’ view of the welfare state leads us to believe the downward trend in some aspects of welfare support since the 1980s merely represents the ‘tip of the iceberg’ on the basis that support must have been even higher still during the ‘golden age’ (Wincott ; Hudson and Lunt et al . ). Uncovering past survey data helps us to assess whether or not this was the case.…”

Section: Accounting For Time: the Challenge Of Contextmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…There does also appear to be a moralistic tone reflected in much of the data. Surveys conducted in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s often betrayed very clear notions of there being distinct groups of ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ poor (Hudson and Lunt et al ). ‘Hard’ attitudes are very much in evidence in surveys conducted in the late 1960s and 1970s, large majorities in some surveys agreeing that welfare interventions made people work less hard and/or that much welfare spending was misprioritized.…”

Section: Placing the Bsa Trends In A Longer Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring Public Attitudes to Welfare over the Longue Durée: Re‐examination of Survey Evidence from Beveridge, Beatlemania, Blair and Beyond

et al. 2016

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It is commonly argued that public support for the welfare state is in long-term decline in the UK. Evidence from the British Social Attitudes Survey (BSA) is typically cited to support this claim, but it only stretches back to 1983. Few would disagree that the Thatcher years offered an unusual socio-political-economic context, which raises a question over whether the BSA's early 1980s baseline provides a misleading view on support for the welfare state over the longue durée. In this article, we explore this issue, piecing together data from the Beveridge era through to the present day, drawing on data from contemporary studies and surveys; opinion polls; and historical government surveys and reports. Our method is undoubtedly a 'second best approach', making use of often limited historical data, which means we remain cautious in offering bold findings. However, we argue there is some evidence to suggest the 1980s were an unusual moment, suggesting the decline in support for welfare is less dramatic than analysis of the BSA might make it seem, but also that support for the welfare state during the postwar consensus years was likely more equivocal than we often believe it to be from today's perspective, perhaps reflecting a tendency to reify this period as a 'golden age' of welfare and so underplaying the complexity of the politics of social policy in the pre-BSA period.

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“…There are various means through which states might do this, for instance, via what Clasen and Clegg (2007) describe as the 'levels' and 'levers' of conditionality and, more importantly for the purposes of this article, the level at which benefits are set. While, as work on policy (Grover, 2016) and public attitudes (Hudson et. al., 2017) suggests, concern with work incentives is long-standing, it is possible to argue that in recent decades it has become particularly important.…”

Section: Social Security Policy and Work Incentivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Household Benefit Cap: understanding the restriction of benefit income in Britain

Grover

2020

J. Soc. Pol.

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Britain’s Household Benefit Cap restricts the amount of benefit income unemployed households can receive. In this article, it is examined using material held at the UK’s National Archives recording debates about a proposal to introduce a similar policy – a benefit limit – in the first Thatcher Conservative government elected in 1979. It was rejected, but the Household Benefit Cap was introduced three decades later. The article locates debates about, and the practice of restricting benefit income, in perennial social security concerns with the financial incentive to do waged work. The article argues that while there are material differences that help explain the different policy outcomes in 1980 and 2010, they can primarily be explained by changing ideas about the roles of social security policy, including the development of the ‘incentive paradigm’ concerned with manipulating behaviour; a loss of concern with the hardship that would come with the introduction of a benefit restriction and a view that institutions other than the state are better placed to address poverty and buttress work incentives.

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Nostalgia narratives? Pejorative attitudes to welfare in historical perspective: survey evidence from Beveridge to the British Social Attitudes Survey

Abstract: The final published version contains some minor differences following the proofing process ***

Cited by 9 publications

References 14 publications

Shared Membership Beyond National Identity: Deservingness and Solidarity in Diverse Societies

Shared Membership Beyond National Identity: Deservingness and Solidarity in Diverse Societies

Exploring Public Attitudes to Welfare over the Longue Durée: Re‐examination of Survey Evidence from Beveridge, Beatlemania, Blair and Beyond

The Household Benefit Cap: understanding the restriction of benefit income in Britain

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