Welfarism

Welfarism

"Welfarism" is a form of consequentialism. Like all forms of consequentialism, welfarism is based on the premise that actions, policies, and/or rules should be evaluated on the basis of their consequences. Welfarism is the view that the morally significant consequences are impacts on human welfare. There are many different understandings of human welfare, but the term "welfarism" is usually associated with the economic conception of welfare. Economists usually think of individual welfare in terms of utility functions. Social welfare can be conceived as an aggregation of individual utilities or utility functions. Welfarism can be contrasted to other consequentialist theories, such as classical utilitarianism, which takes utility among agents as directly accessible and measurable.

"Welfarist" views have been especially influential in the law and economics movement. Steven Shavell and Louis Kaplow have argued in an influential book, "Fairness versus Welfare" that welfare should be the exclusive criteria by which legal analysts evaluate legal policy choices.

Bibliography

Louis Kaplow and Steven Shavell, "Fairness versus Welfare" (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press 2002) ISBN 0-674-00622-4..

ee also

*Consequentialism
*Social welfare
*Social welfare function
*Welfare economics
*Utilitarianism
*Utility
*Juvenile delinquency
*Animal welfare

External links

* [http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=224946 Louis Kaplow and Steven Shavell, Principles of Fairness versus Human Welfare: On the Evaluation of Legal Policy (Social Science Research Network, Working Paper, 2002)]


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  • welfarism — ☆ welfarism [wel′fer iz΄əm ] n. the policies and practices of a welfare state or of public welfare agencies welfarist [wel′fer΄ist] n., adj …   English World dictionary

  • welfarism — noun Date: 1949 the complex of policies, attitudes, and beliefs associated with the welfare state • welfarist noun or adjective …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • welfarism — welfarist, n., adj. /wel fair iz euhm, fair riz /, n. the set of attitudes and policies characterizing or tending toward the establishment of a welfare state. [1945 50; WELFARE + ISM] * * * …   Universalium

  • welfarism — noun The belief in or support of the welfare state …   Wiktionary

  • welfarism — wel|far|ism [ welfer,ızəm ] noun uncount the principle that a country should take care of its citizens by providing social and financial support …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • welfarism — noun the principles or policies associated with a welfare state. Derivatives welfarist noun & adjective …   English new terms dictionary

  • welfarism — noun (U) a way of life in which someone does not work, but accepts money from the government and makes no attempt to improve their situation …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • welfarism — wel·far·ism …   English syllables

  • welfarism — wel•far•ism [[t]ˈwɛlˌfɛər ɪz əm, fɛəˌrɪz [/t]] n. gov the set of attitudes and policies characterizing or tending toward the establishment of a welfare state …   From formal English to slang

  • welfarism — /ˈwɛlfɛərɪzəm/ (say welfairrizuhm) noun policies and attitudes associated with a welfare state. –welfarist, adjective …  

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