PARTICIPATION AND THE NEW WELFARE

Abstract

Current discussions of welfare reform are influenced by various kinds of talk about ‘participation’. Three are predominant in Australia: talk of self‐sufficiency, paying your dues, and team effort. All imply a local/associational/voluntary model of society which deflects attention from broader structural and economic factors. This prevailing treatment of ‘participation’ is heavily biased, ignoring alternative interpretations such as the older tradition that emphasises rights. The general discourse it underwrites is at best ineffective and quite likely dangerous.