Is Risk Transforming The Danish Welfare State?

Modern life is changing rapidly and one of the drivers for change is risk. How risks are perceived and handled, both collectively and individually, is influencing and changing the modern welfare state. The theme of risk and risk management is by no means new to the welfare state literature. Certainly, William Beveridge (1942) saw the five giant evils of Squalor, Ignorance, Want, Idleness, and Disease as corrupting for both the nation and the individual, and the proposals he courageously set out for a modern welfare state gave directions and tools for managing those risks. However, since the Beveridge Report, the notion of risk has undergone dramatic transformation. This book investigates these changes and how they have affected the Danish welfare state as a whole, as well as a range of central policy areas at different levels.