The Evolution of Social Welfare: From Calvinism to Neoliberalism

Abstract

[Name] Currently, the public views social welfare from three perspectives; well-being, financial assistance, and other government services provided to protect people like community development, pension, and adult literacy programs. However, with a vast history ever since the establishment of social welfare in the United States, one can argue that various approaches ranging from Calvinism to market supremacy have significantly contributed to shaping social welfare as currently defined and viewed by the public. For example, according to Professor Jennifer Gasparino, social well-being is characterized by satisfactory conditions like health, prosperity, and happiness (2021). On the other hand, financial assistance comes along with direct financial assistance in all areas that define social well-being. Furthermore, the provision of services that protect humans during childhood, sickness, and old age, among others, defines a range of services that define social welfare. To this effect, one can define modern social welfare as an approach that began with the New Deal enacted in 1930 and coined around states' services designed to protect its citizens from economic risks and insecurities of life (Herrick, 2013). Such an overview best defines what the society perceives as social welfare, which paves the way for a better analysis of the contributions of various historical approaches in shaping the current understandings of the term "social welfare." Social welfare is a matter of right rather than the need thus financed using public revenue. To this effect, neoliberalism defines the supremacy of markets while shaping social welfare policies that are generally targeted to a specific population. This argument is well explained through the residual model, which argues that social welfare should only benefit the poor who have expressed complete inability to meet their basic needs (HS-222). To this effect, the neoliberalism approach allows for limitations to a target population while shaping social welfare. It allows for a diversion to the neediest targets in case of noted potentials from the previous beneficiaries. It is...