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Egalitarians, Equalities and Welfare Evaluation*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2009

Michael O'Higgins
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Abstract

The focus of this paper is on the nature of the egalitarian policy objectives of the welfare state, and on the evaluation and assessment of social policies in the light of those objectives. This focus reflects the pervasive but often ill-defined presence of equality as an objective for social policy, without asserting that it is either unique or uncontested as an objective. The paper does not offer an evaluation of the success or failure of the welfare state in relation to equality; rather it is concerned with exploring what might be and is meant by equality as a target for social policy, with presenting some contrasting conceptions of equality, and with discussing the implications of the multiple meanings of equality for the way in which we think about issues in social policy and, in particular, about the impact of social welfare programmes.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Social Policy , Volume 16 , Issue 1 , January 1987 , pp. 1 - 18
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1987

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