The Welfare State, Individual Freedom and Morality

Doctoral Thesis / Dissertation from the year 2012 in the subject Politics - Miscellaneous, grade: none, course: Politics, language: English, abstract: Every since the creation of welfare states in the US and Western Europe there has been enumerable debates as to what extent the existence of such welfare states undermines individual freedom. These debates raise such questions as how should we define freedom? To what extent is freedom compatible with attempts made by the state to promote the welfare of its citizens? Does liberty reside in independence from state interference? Does the provision of welfare impose constraints on individual liberty? However this text goes further and questions whether morality should be taken into account when deciding who should receive state welfare? And whether state interference goes against human nature?