I have recently been interviewed on behalf of a magazine called Human Givens. Ivan Tyrrell,who has also co-written a book by the same name, was very interested in The Welfare State We're In from a completely unexpected point of view.

The basis of the Human Givens approach is that all human beings have certain well-recognised needs. These include the need to socialise, to have some status and to be stretched. People cannot readily be content without these needs being met.

Ivan was interested in The Welfare State We're In because in it I argue that the welfare state has made people less happy. He fully agrees and sees this as being because it takes away from people - in many ways - the need to stretch themselves, the context in which to socialise and a sense of status.

It is easy to think of examples of this. People who are discouraged by benefits from seeking work get demoralised staying at home. They would be happier being stretched in a job. They would be happier having the sense of achievement in putting food on the table for their families. They would be happier having the status of a job and soicalising at work. Doctors and teachers would be more satisfied if they were more in control of their work instead of being dictated to so much by commandments from government or managers.

We live now in a society where the government controls more and more of our lives. It robs us of a sense that we are the ones who run our own lives. It takes away a certain dignity and, through that, it takes away some of our contentment.

The psychological impact (not to mention the cultural impact) of the welfare state has been enormous. It deserves far more study than the academic world has yet given it.

Posted by James Bartholomew • Indexed in General • Welfare benefits

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