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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The Public Good and the Welfare State in Africa
Author:Karger, Howard JacobISNI
Year:1996
Periodical:Journal of Social Development in Africa (ISSN 1012-1080)
Volume:11
Issue:1
Pages:5-16
Language:English
Notes:biblio. refs.
Geographic terms:Subsaharan Africa
Africa
Subjects:political systems
social welfare
Economics and Trade
Politics and Government
Economics, Commerce
social policy
International economy
economic policy
Abstract:The relationship between the public good and the welfare State is being reexamined in many industrialized and developing countries. The exigencies of the global economy, i.e. the interlinking of corporate markets and large sums of capital on a worldwide basis, exacerbate the dilemma faced by governments in trying to walk a tenuous line between appearing simultaneously to promote both the public and the private good. The public good is increasingly being redefined in terms of the private, 'what's good for business is good for the public'. However, the only real buffer between the violence of unregulated self-interest and the maintenance of civil society is the welfare State. How the public good is translated into a compassionate and cost-effective welfare programme is the task facing African social planners. As such, the public good must be defined as those policies which positively enhance the quality of life for all members of society. Values such as productivity, reciprocity, familial responsibility, social cohesion, and social choice are benchmarks around which future thinking about social welfare policy in Africa can be organized. Bibliogr., sum.
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