EQUALITY AND SOCIAL POLICY

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Original Title Page -- Original Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- 1 Introduction -- 1 Equality and Political Argument -- Untitled -- 2 Social Policy and Political Argument -- 3 Some Underlying Themes -- 2 Procedural Equality -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Equality as a Defeasible Concept -- 3 Equality and Consistency -- 3 Substantive Equality -- 1 Justice and Equality -- 2 The Contract Argument -- 3 Equality, Incentives and Efficiency -- 4 Primary Goods and Social Policy -- 1 Distributive Principles and Primary Goods -- 2 Compensation and Welfare -- 3 Equality and Transfers in Kind -- 4 Pensions and Redistribution -- 5 Need and Equality -- 1 The Concept of Need -- 2 Need and Equality -- 3 The Boundaries of Need Claims -- 4 Consent Risk and Need -- 6 Institutions (1) -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Health Care -- 3 Education -- 4 Housing -- 5 Exemption from Collectively Supplied Benefits -- 7 Institutions (2) -- 1 General Framework of Social Policy -- 2 The State and Social Policy -- 3 Social Policy and the Market -- 4 Altruism, Citizenship and Social Policy -- Notes -- Guide to Further Reading -- Bibliography -- Index.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Original Title Page -- Original Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- 1 Introduction -- 1 Equality and Political Argument -- Untitled -- 2 Social Policy and Political Argument -- 3 Some Underlying Themes -- 2 Procedural Equality -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Equality as a Defeasible Concept -- 3 Equality and Consistency -- 3 Substantive Equality -- 1 Justice and Equality -- 2 The Contract Argument -- 3 Equality, Incentives and Efficiency -- 4 Primary Goods and Social Policy -- 1 Distributive Principles and Primary Goods -- 2 Compensation and Welfare -- 3 Equality and Transfers in Kind -- 4 Pensions and Redistribution -- 5 Need and Equality -- 1 The Concept of Need -- 2 Need and Equality -- 3 The Boundaries of Need Claims -- 4 Consent Risk and Need -- 6 Institutions (1) -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Health Care -- 3 Education -- 4 Housing -- 5 Exemption from Collectively Supplied Benefits -- 7 Institutions (2) -- 1 General Framework of Social Policy -- 2 The State and Social Policy -- 3 Social Policy and the Market -- 4 Altruism, Citizenship and Social Policy -- Notes -- Guide to Further Reading -- Bibliography -- Index.

Originally published in 1978, this book presents a philosophical analysis of the principle of equality, and is also a study of the institutional implications of that principle in the field of social policy. The author distinguishes between a procedural' and a substantive' version of the principle of equality and considers the implications of both. Procedural equality is identified with the concept of equity and includes the recommendation that like cases should be treated as like. The application of this principle to some political argument in the area of social policy, such as family allowances, is discussed. The author defines the substantive principle as the rule that persons should share the same level of economic welfare. Some difficulties in implementing the equal welfare principle are discussed, with particular application to pensions policy. An original interpretation of the logical relationship between the principle of need and that of equality is proposed, and is applied to the case of the health services. The final 2 chapters deal with the institutional implications of the equality principle. These chapters analyse some major political arguments over the organisation of social policy, such as the compatibility of extensive social welfare measures with a market economy.