Socializing the Welfare State

I suggest that we think of the modern welfare state as a system of nationalized distribution. Certain key social goods have been taken out of private control or out of exclusive private control and are now provided by law to all (or to some subset of) citizens and residents. The distribution is paid for with public funds and organized by public officials. Social Security is an easy example. In the past, the private sector sold old-age insurance and pensions to men and women who could afford t...