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Since the mid-1980s, welfare state arrangements have become increasingly conditional and austere. Simultaneously, deservingness perceptions have become increasingly important. This paper examines preferences as to which social categories contemporary welfare state reforms should target. Using unique data from a 2006 Dutch survey, the results reveal that the Dutch discern two principles of welfare state reforms – the first tapping into distributive reforms – decreasing redistribution, the latter tapping into commodifying reforms – increasing recommodification. Moreover, the level of people's identification with social categories explains why the public prefers commodifying reform to be intensively targeted at some social categories, but not at others.

This article examines the extent to which four major trends in welfare state reform – privatisation, increasing selectivity, increasing activation and increasing discipline – are supported and how this support can be explained. Using recent public opinion data of the Dutch population, it is found that there are two ideological dimensions underlying welfare reform support, the first tapping distributive reform, the latter tapping commodifying reform. While support for distributive reform in the direction of decreasing redistribution can solely be explained by economic interests and economic values, support for commodifying reform can also be explained culturally. It appears that one's cultural position and cultural ideological values are important for support for commodifying reform.

Tegen de achtergrond van een veranderende verzorgingsstaat bekijkt dit boek diverse aspecten van de sociale zekerheid: Moet er meer geld gespendeerd worden aan sociale zekerheid, of juist minder? Reflecteren de normen binnen het beleid nog steeds de gedeelde normen onder het Nederlandse publiek? Hoe kijken Nederlanders aan tegen versobering en herziening van de verzorgingsstaat? En wie mogen vooral wel, en wie vooral geen aanspraken maken op financiële steun van de overheid? Uit dit boek blijkt dat meningen van Nederlanders over de verzorgingsstaat sterk bepaald worden door standpunten over we