Poverty, Welfare, and Justice

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Underpinned by the idea of the right to a `basic minimum¿, welfare states are a major feature of many societies. Ostensibly a major role of the welfare state is to ensure redistributive justice, alleviate poverty and de-commodify basic needs from reliance on the labour market. Yet poverty as a global and local phenomenon persists. Over the course of this module, and focusing on both Irish and international examples, students will explore the concepts of poverty, welfare and justice and examine how they are related. The module begins with a focus on poverty, taking in histories, definitions, international comparisons and lived experiences. From here the focus shifts to welfare states as response to poverty by focusing on historical welfare state development, comparing welfare state models and exploring how welfare recipients experience the welfare state. The final part of the module will explore the concept of justice, focusing on the concept redistributive justice in-particular while also examining the role of welfare states in promoting environmental and ecological justice.