Welfare state and its important in modern age

Ans. The modern era is called the democratic era. Therefore, in the democratic era, the purpose and
nature of the functions of the state have been determined according to the welfare of the subjects. In
the olden days, the function of the state was mainly to provide internal and external security to the
people. This is the reason that in the olden days the state was called as Police State. But, due to the
development of democracy, now not only providing internal security and external security has remained
the only function of the state, but now its work has been linked to the all-round development of
political, economic, social and other fields. This is the reason why we call the modern state by the name
of public welfare state.Generally, by public welfare state, we mean a state under which the power of
governance is not used for the welfare of any particular class but for the welfare of the entire people.
Therefore, we can say that in a public welfare state, the administration works for the all-round
development of the people. The Encyclopedia of Social Sciences, published in 1918, defines a public
welfare state as saying that "a public welfare state means a state which considers it its essential
responsibility to provide a minimum standard of living to all its citizens". Similarly, Prof. Kent (E. Kent)
has explained it by stating that "Welfare State is state that provides for tis citizen a wide range of Social
Services." That is, a public welfare state is a state which Make efforts for comprehensive social services
for its citizens. There are many forms of these social services. Under this, arrangements are made for
education, health, employment etc. Their main purpose is to provide all kinds of security to the citizens.
According to Dr. Abraham- "A welfare state is a community, where State Power is deliberately used to
modify the general plans of economy forces so as to obtain a more equal distribution every citizen." he
is the one who The financial system operates with the aim of more and more equitable distribution of
income. In the words of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, providing equal opportunities to all, bridging the gap
between the rich and the poor and raising the standard of living are the basic elements of a public
welfare state. “If we analyze the definitions given in relation to the public welfare state, then we will
find that all the definitions give more emphasis on the economic side of public welfare. But the concept
of welfare is not only physical but also human freedom and Justice Chagla, while expressing the correct
concept of a public welfare state, has said - "The function of a public welfare state is to build such a
bridge. Through which a person will be able to move out of the seeming state of life and enter such a
state which is uplifting and purposeful. "In other words, the real object of a public welfare state is to
make possible the enjoyment of true freedom by the citizens. Thus, a public welfare state means
expanding the sphere of work of the state and a public welfare state, the sphere of operation of the
state. Therefore, it is said that in reality the concept of public welfare state is different from both the
systems of Western independence and communist dictatorship. Western democracies consider political
freedom as such a position. On the contrary, there are civil liberties in a communist dictatorship based
on the idea of economic security. The concept of a public welfare state is an all-out effort to coordinate
between political freedom and economic security. Therefore, Prof. Hobman has rightly said - "Public
welfare state has two guests communism on one side and uncontrolled individualism on the other.
public welfare state Basically based on public interest. By public interest, we mean to fulfill the common
need of the person by providing equality of opportunity to the person from political, social and
economic point of view. The purpose of this system is to protect the essential interests of all sections of
the people rather than protecting the interests of any particular community or class. "Keeping in mind
the conclusions drawn on the basis of the views presented by various scholars regarding the public
welfare state, we can mention the essential features of the public welfare state as follows: System of
economic security 2. Employment to all persons 3. Guarantee of minimum standard of living 4.
Establishment of maximum equality 5. System of political security 6. Civil liberties 7. System of social
security 8. Spirit of international cooperation. Public welfare After clarifying the meaning of the state, it
becomes necessary that we also analyze its functions. By the way, the word public welfare itself is so
broad and wide that it is difficult to limit its functions. The chief is referred to, we can mention it as
follows (i) internal order and protection from external aggression - generally all the state whether it is
public welfare or police state, its main function is to maintain peace and order within the country. to
keep and from outside attack is protecting. Public welfare states also perform the main functions of the
state. (ii) Arrangement of mutual relations of individuals and relations between the state and
individuals – As we all know that man is selfish by nature. Due to different ideologies, this distinction of
thoughts and actions takes the form of conflict. Therefore, it becomes the main task of the public
welfare state to understand these differences well and try to reconcile them, so that mutual relations
between individuals and relations between the state and the individual can be established. (iii)
Functions related to economic security - One of the most important functions of the public welfare state
is to provide economic security. Many tasks are included under economic security, such as providing full
opportunities to all the people for their development, making them financially independent and raising
the standard of living, fulfilling the minimum needs of the individuals. (iv) Providing political security-
Public welfare state not only does the work of providing economic security, but it also works to provide
political security. Provides many types of political facilities for the development of the personality of the
individual, such as freedom, rights, equality etc. Public welfare state is basically based on democratic
principles. Therefore, arranging for social justice is considered to be one of its main functions. (v)
Providing social security - Even after getting political and economic freedom, they cannot be enjoyed
without social security. Due to the dominance of a particular section of the society, the general public
cannot consume them. Therefore, the work of uplifting the backward Dalit people is mainly done in the
public welfare state. them social,Every possible arrangement is made to provide security. So that they
can also enjoy their political and economic freedom in the right way and get equal status in the society.
(vi) Civil liberties - Apart from these works, many types of works are done by the public welfare state for
the all-round development of human beings. For example, related to education and health, related to
public facilities, social reforms etc. In this way, according to its name, it works for the welfare of all
mankind. While evaluating the works of public welfare state, some scholars criticize it. They believe
that there are some shortcomings in the main principles of the public welfare state, due to which it does
not affect other organizations properly. The main criticisms that have been given in this regard, we can
mention them in this way (i) The statement of the critics is that by adopting the trend of public welfare,
the work of the state increases greatly and the powers are reduced and concentrated in the state. as a
result of which personal liberty is endangered. (ii) Critics also allege that bureaucratic tendencies are
found in the public welfare state. Due to the tendency of bureaucracy, common evils like nepotism,
corruption, dishonesty, red tape etc. Critics also hold the belief that the public welfare state is too
expensive. Therefore, US Senator Toft says that "Policy of public welfare leads the state to daydream."
Keeping in mind the arguments presented in the pros and cons regarding the public welfare state, we
can say that Because of the faults pointed out by the critics, the public welfare state cannot be rejected,
because these faults are not in the public welfare state, but in the weaknesses of human life. In the
modern era, a public-welfare state can be such a system, which can help in the all-round development
of human life while protecting democracy. The basic principles of democracy can be used properly only
through a public welfare state. This is the reason . That in the modern democratic era, the system of
public welfare state has been adopted in most of the countries. Therefore, it is in line with democratic
beliefs