The Birth of Solidarity: The History of the French Welfare State (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781478008231)

François Ewald's landmark The Birth of Solidarity-first published in French in 1986, revised in 1996, with the revised edition appearing here in English for the first time-is one of the most important historical and philosophical studies of the rise of the welfare state. Theorizing the origins of social insurance, Ewald shows how the growing problem of industrial accidents in France throughout the nineteenth century tested the limits of classical liberalism and its notions of individual responsibility. As workers and capitalists confronted each other over the problem of workplace accidents, they transformed the older practice of commercial insurance into an instrument of state intervention, thereby creating an entirely new conception of law, the state, and social solidarity. What emerged was a new system of social insurance guaranteed by the state. The Birth of Solidarity is a classic work of social and political theory that will appeal to all those interested in labor power, the making and dismantling of the welfare state, and Foucauldian notions of governmentality, security, risk, and the limits of liberalism.

Author: François Ewald
ISBN-10: 1478008237
ISBN-13: 9781478008231
Publisher: Duke University Press
Language: English
Published: 05/08/2020
Pages: 304
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.91lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.64d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 05/01/2021