Sectors, agents and rationale - A study of the Scandinavian welfare states with special reference to the welfare society model

The widely held assumption that the welfare society model is superseding the welfare state model has restructured the common view of the future of social policy all around the world. This study brings local issues into focus with an investigation of the applicability of the welfare society model in the Scandinavian context. The study first examines the strength of the various welfare agents sector by sector to define the sectoral rationale, and second it seeks to reveal the system rationale of the Scandinavian welfare state by using the perspective of private-public interplay. The basic argument is that the public sector-led structure of welfare provision prevents non-public agents from realizing their full potential. The far-reaching institutional integration of the private and public spheres leaves little room for voluntary (welfare) agents to operate; the weak sense of reciprocality, combined with a strong notion of welfare right, still renders normative support for a system of state welfare. These conditions will surely vitiate the high hopes that some hold for the welfare society model in Scandinavia.