Social Capitalism: A Study of Christian Democracy and the Welfare State

by van Kersbergen,Kees

• ISBN13: 9780415116701
• ISBN10: 0415116708
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1995-12-21
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Christian democracy has been the most successful political movement in post-war Western Europe yet its crucial impact on the development of the modern European welfare state has been critically neglected. In this study Kees van Kersbergen demonstrates the precise nature of the links between Christian Democracy and the welfare state. Using a variety of sources the author describes the origin and development of the christian democratic movement and presents comparative accounts of the varying degrees of political entrenchment of national christian democratic parties. Drawing upon cross-national indicators of welfare state development he identifies and explains the existence of a distinctively christian democratic (as opposed to a liberal or social democratic) welfare state regime which he labels "social capitalism".

Author Biography

Kees van Kersbergen is a Lecturer in Political Science, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. viii
Abbreviations	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
The Welfare State and Christian Democracy	p. 6
The Political Entrenchment of Christian Democracy in Western Europe, 1870-1960	p. 31
Christian Democracy in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands	p. 62
Welfare State Regimes and Social Spending	p. 97
The Quality of Welfare State Regimes	p. 125
The Structure of Welfare State Regimes	p. 148
Social Capitalism and Christian Democracy	p. 174
Catholicism and Social Citizenship	p. 192
The Intellectual Origins of Christian Democracy and Social Capitalism	p. 205
Conclusion	p. 229
Appendix	p. 247
Notes	p. 254
References	p. 259
Index	p. 280
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