Welfare to Work in Contemporary European Welfare States is an edited collection examining ‘welfare to work’ (‘WTW’) policy from different perspectives (legal, sociological and philosophical). It explores ‘alternative ways in which WTW programmes relate to questions of justice’ (p. 1). And, as a counter to communitarian and some liberal (notably, luck-egalitarianism) justifications for ‘WTW’ measures, the book is framed by the republican theory of non-domination (the absence of arbitrary or uncontrolled interference) and is focused upon normative issues in ‘WTW’ policies. The chapters use examples from Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK. Following an introduction that justifies the volume’s foci and provides outlines for the chapters, the book is divided into three substantive sections.
The first section contains five chapters examining legal perspectives in understanding ‘WTW’ policies. The focus of Chapter 2 is upon ‘persistent’ (p. 27) philosophical and legal issues in understanding ‘workfare’: whether it can be classed as forced labour; the uniqueness of work being a condition of benefit receipt; issues related to reciprocity; and the legal potential of an unconditional basic income (UBI) as an alternative to ‘workfare’. Chapter 3 examines justifications for ‘WTW’ from a human rights perspective (the right to work). It notes ‘WTW’ cannot be justified via appeals to the right to work. Chapter 4 explores whether ‘WTW’ is inconsistent with the prohibition of forced labour and/or with freely chosen work. Like Chapter 2, Chapter 4 argues that ‘WTW’ cannot be understood as forced labour, but also suggests that case law provides potential criteria to establish whether restriction to the free choice of employment in ‘WTW’ is justified and proportionate.
Chapter 5 is focused upon Switzerland. It argues, because the payment of social assistance in Switzerland is closely related to guaranteeing ‘what is indispensable for a decent human existence’ (p, 93), the conditional nature of ‘WTW’ means human dignity is threatened there. Chapter 6 examines the legal basis of ‘WTW’ in Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK. It focuses upon forced labour and the right to freely choose labour, and argues none of the three countries comply fully with the evaluation criteria outlined in Chapter 4 to ensure that work is freely chosen.
The second section has five chapters concerned with what are described as sociological perspectives (the implementation of ‘WTW’ policies). Chapter 7 examines ‘WTW’ in Switzerland. It argues interference and domination occur at the design, implementation and ‘reception’ levels of social assistance in Switzerland, and that (neo)republican insights should be combined with Sen’s capability approach, to allow unconditional access to resources that would respect human dignity and allow aspiration to be taken into account. Chapter 8 explores how in Denmark there has been a ‘silent expansion’ (p. 163) of ‘WTW’ policies through changing classifications of claimants, evidence-based policy and devolution.
In Chapter 9, experiences in the UK are focused upon. It argues the position of ‘policy stakeholders’, that is heading towards a ‘conditionality consensus’ (p. 193), means ‘WTW’ there is inconsistent with the republican theory of non-domination. Chapter 10 draws upon research with social assistance recipients and ‘case managers’ at a welfare office in the Netherlands. It points to the arbitrary use of power in the governance of recipients. Chapter 11 also focuses upon the Netherlands, but in this instance upon ‘workfare volunteerism’ (p. 237). It argues that aspects of domination (arbitrary power and few non-sanctionable exit routes) are present in its operation and that it does not meet the legal safeguards outlined in Chapter 4.
Containing three chapters, the third section explores philosophical perspectives in understanding ‘WTW’. Chapter 12 focuses in a general sense on how ‘WTW’ can be understood through the republican idea of non-domination. It suggests a combination of republican arguments is required in approaches to ‘WTW’ that acknowledge the need for both rule-bound constraint and the democratic oversight of discretion. The other two chapters (13 and 14) examine dimensions of UBI. Chapter 13 outlines philosophical arguments in support of UBI from a republican perspective as a means of addressing weaknesses in liberal arguments. Chapter 14 explores philosophical debates about relationships between freedom and the possibility of UBI as an exit from exploitative waged labour. It acknowledges concerns with the level at which a UBI might be set (that it would be too low), but suggests it still has the potential to reduce or mitigate work-related and ‘WTW’-related domination.
The conclusion draws together the themes of book. It suggests developments that might act to reduce the domination structuring ‘WTW’ policies. These include: improving the potential for exit from them, including the voice of recipients in the design and implementation of social assistance; providing a right to work, rather than emphasising a duty to work; and decoupling ‘WTW’ from waged labour. ‘WTW’ would become ‘welfare-as-community’ (p. 343).
There is a lot for readers of the Journal of Social Policy to take from Welfare to Work in Contemporary European Welfare States. The various chapters provide critical engagement with justifications for ‘WTW’ policies; chapters demonstrate legal and philosophical shortcomings in policies and the detrimental impact that they have on the lives of those people subjected to them. The book clearly demonstrates how ‘WTW’ policies can be understood as being framed by domination and injustice. It also demonstrates how alternatives, most notably a UBI, can help address concerns with republican notions of domination currently visible in many social assistance regimes.
The various intellectual foci of the book are one of the book’s strengths. However, as is often the case with edited collections, maintaining consistency across chapters seems to have been a challenge. The chapters vary, for instance, in their use of the republican theory of domination, from those for which it is a central concern to those where is only mentioned in passing. There are also some definitional issues. Most notably, ‘WTW’ is not clearly defined. In this collection it seems to mean those policies (such as ‘workfare’-type activation) that focus upon forcing people to hasten their (re)entry to waged work on the threat of benefit sanctions, but this is not clearly spelt out. Hence, the reader is left wondering how other policies (for example, wage supplementation and funding for childcare) that can be considered under a broader definition of ‘WTW’ might be understood in the volume’s various analyses.
A second definitional issue relates to the book’s focus on what are a limited range of justifications for WTW policies. Such policies are as much framed by political economic concerns as the political theory discussed in the book: for instance, with concerns with the supply of labour, wage inflation and perceived inter-generational worklessness. Such issues largely (there is some discussion of labour supply in Chapter 14) go unexplored, and while, of course, such ideas might be argued to be outside of the book’s focus upon the normative (after all, such arguments are largely abstract), they are nonetheless framed by a concern with real-world impacts.
Nevertheless, I would recommend Welfare to Work in Contemporary European Welfare States for its critical engagement with ideas that structure conditionality and activation; the ways in which these can be understood as being framed by domination and for understanding, from a philosophical point of view, potential alternatives to ‘WTW’ policies.
