The Failed American Welfare State
1st January 2023
Europeans commonly believe that America does not have a welfare state. Many American conservatives share that belief, and those who do recognize that we have one, firmly believe that it is not socialist.
They are all wrong: America has a big welfare state, and it is distinctly socialist in nature. It is based on the very same ideology that underpins the Swedish welfare state.
Its foundation was laid by President Lyndon Johnson in 1964 with his so-called ‘war on poverty.’ Since then, almost every president has helped the welfare state grow.
Today, there are more similarities than differences between America’s and Europe’s welfare states. We in the U.S. do not yet have single-payer health care, and our income-security systems are not as sprawling as they are in Europe. However, the long list of social benefits that we do have operates on a socialist ideological basis: they elevate the standard of living of the gainfully employed with lower incomes, and have better-off citizens pay for it.
The modern welfare state was pioneered by Otto von Bismarck in the 19th century.