Abstract: | In this paper, the history of Egypt's public assistance program is traced, with particular emphasis devoted to the ways in which political changes were related to the development and implementation of the scheme. Despite the economic and political changes brought about by the 1952 Revolution and despite a change in the state ideology and with it notions about the role of public assistance, the program itself has not changed in significant ways. The changing rhetoric about public assistance suggests the primary function of it, namely to justify and legitimate the regime. Sections of the paper: Background to the enactment of public assistance - The Public Assistance law of 1950 - The application of the P.A.L. under the old régime - P.A. under the new régime - The New P.A. Law of 1964 - Conclusion. Tables: ref. |