In today’s world of budget crises and austerity, the welfare state is often discussed in practical terms: affordability, tax and benefit adjustment, efficiency, etc. These conversations assume that the welfare state is something to be desired; rarely, however, is the idea of the welfare state itself discussed. Is it a good thing? This question can be pursued several ways. Perhaps – if we take for granted the favorability of capitalism – the welfare state is necessary because it induces the working classes to accept the capitalist model. Or, it may be that the welfare state simply helps the working classes, and so is good for purely humanitarian reasons. If one explores these thoughts, however, he will find that the welfare state neither in practice nor in theory does or can help the working classes, making it superfluous to the capitalist system.

http://hir.harvard.edu/archives/3059