Social Policy in Capitalist History

This invigorating book approaches social policy as a response to socioeconomic tensions and conflicts brought about by capitalist development, exploring how such policy reflects and shapes the world of work and socioeconomic life. Ayşe Buğra presents a historical overview of the ideas and politics of social policy in a discussion framed around the interrelated questions of poverty, work and inequality.

Tracing the origins of modern social policy back from the early capitalist societies of Europe to the present era of global neoliberal capitalism, Buğra explores the debates on social assistance, labour market regulation and social risk protection in different phases of capitalist history. Chapters discuss liberal, conservative and socialist imaginations of society and conceptualisations of social justice, highlighting the complexity of the conflicts and alliances shaping the politics of social policy. The book ultimately draws attention to the contemporary relevance of the history of social policy and politics for the current state of global politics, marked by the rise of authoritarian populist trends.

Bringing a unique perspective to critical scholarship on capitalism, Social Policy in Capitalist History will prove indispensable to academics and postgraduate students of economic history and sociology, social policy, industrial and employment relations and political economy.