Historical-political foundations of the British and German Welfare State (issues and problems)

Abstract

Th is paper, which is a state-of-the-art study, attempts to approach the various issues and themes developed in the studies on the Welfare State, particularly considering comparative approaches between Germany and Britain. The objective is twofold: firstly to get to know the most important elements of the interpretations of the subject, recognizing the state of historical investigation and the contributions to research made primarily by economists, sociologists and political scientists; secondly to discuss guidelines and problems that have been developed on this topic in comparative historical research. The article shows that there is a period between 1930 and 1960 that has not yet been completely covered by the historical study from a comparative perspective, particularly the differences and convergences in the political-economic ideas developed in that period. It presents elements (such as the ideas of Walter Eucken in Germany and William Beveridge in Great Britain) that shed light on the specificities and convergences of each case. 

Key words: state, welfare, Germany, Great Britain, history.