welfare state

noun

1
: a social system based on the assumption by a political state of primary responsibility for the individual and social welfare of its citizens
2
: a nation or state characterized by the operation of the welfare state system

Examples of welfare state in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Over time, these conditions came to include universal suffrage and the welfare state, as well as individual empowerment and market freedom. Helena Rosenblatt, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024 Yet in today’s massive welfare state, many who receive benefits from the government also pay substantial taxes. Judge Glock, WSJ, 15 Jan. 2024 Even if these thinkers did not oppose the welfare state, Moyn argues, their rejection of liberal idealism set the stage for spiraling in equality and the assault on welfare in the generations that followed. Helena Rosenblatt, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024 So why did America’s and Europe’s youth rise up in the mid to late ‘60s, at a time of full employment, sharply diminished inequality, new public universities and all the trappings of an expanding welfare state? Yanis Varoufakis, Fortune, 11 Feb. 2024 While conservatives like to suggest that income redistribution is by its very nature anti-American, progressives say that America is uniquely cruel in its rejection of the welfare state. Tyler Cowen, Twin Cities, 10 Jan. 2024 California is a generous welfare state—paying out twice as much per person as Florida—with a politically dominant teachers union. Stephen Moore, WSJ, 29 Nov. 2023 Why is this welfare state politically acceptable, but not one that effectively serves poor people? Kim Phillips-Fein, The New Republic, 28 Aug. 2023 In 2022, at the same time voters soured on the economy, close to 60 percent of people saw their income decline relative to last year, according to Matt Bruenig, founder of the People’s Policy Project, a think tank that supports expansion of the welfare state. Taylor Lorenz, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'welfare state.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1894, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of welfare state was in 1894

Dictionary Entries Near welfare state

Cite this Entry

“Welfare state.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/welfare%20state. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

welfare state

noun
: a social system in which the government takes on much of the responsibility for the individual and group welfare of its people

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