This book is the third in the ‘Beliefs in government’ series, and examines the effects of the post‐war arrival of the welfare state in the countries of Western Europe. The welfare state inaugurated a vast expansion in the role of government, which led to fears that the increased expectations of citizens would lead to government overload and to ‘ungovernability’. This book sheds new and surprising light on such fears. It begins by examining the expanding scope of government in the post‐war period. Drawing on a vast data set, stretching back over the past two decades and across Europe, it clarif ... More

This book is the third in the ‘Beliefs in government’ series, and examines the effects of the post‐war arrival of the welfare state in the countries of Western Europe. The welfare state inaugurated a vast expansion in the role of government, which led to fears that the increased expectations of citizens would lead to government overload and to ‘ungovernability’. This book sheds new and surprising light on such fears. It begins by examining the expanding scope of government in the post‐war period. Drawing on a vast data set, stretching back over the past two decades and across Europe, it clarifies public attitudes towards the range and extent of government activity. It identifies changes in the public's political agenda, along with attitudes towards the size of government, taxation, and the equality and security goals of the welfare state. Attitudes towards government intervention in the economy, the environment, and the media are also examined. The book's final chapters assess the significance for governments of beliefs about the scope of the government.