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book1944

Full Employment in a Free Society

Disciplines:
economics
political economy

Summary

William Beveridge's follow-up to his 1942 report — arguing that full employment (not just social insurance) is the proper goal of a free society, and that it is achievable through Keynesian demand management.

Core Contribution

Full employment as a right and a policy goal — not merely an aspiration. Keynesian demand management: government can and should maintain aggregate demand to prevent mass unemployment. The argument that full employment is compatible with a free society (against libertarian objections). A key document in the intellectual foundation of the post-war welfare state.

Historical Influences

John Maynard Keynes Beveridge Report

Intellectual Lineage

Keynesian Economics British Social Democracy

Allied Works

Social Insurance and Allied ServicesVoluntary Action

Contemporaries & Peers

The Road to Serfdom The General Theory

Minds Influenced

Post-War Economic PolicyWelfare State

Intellectual Posterity

Welfare State TheoryFull Employment Policy

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Full Employment in a Free Society

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