Author Description

More importantly, this study illustrates how the cultural context affects welfare systems. People in dissimilar cultures have their own sense of legitimacy for a welfare system. Therefore cultural contexts, reflected in social norms and social order, demonstrate their power to modify modern social welfare systems. As observed, the notions of individual autonomy and gender equality in Scandinavia favours a universalistic welfare state, whereas Confucian familistic groupism promotes a network of welfare reliance. Accordingly, Lin Ka stresses a normative perspective of welfare study. The discussion further extends to 'welfare society'. Lin Ka maintains that, since various types of welfare states have dissimilar normative bases, there is no convergent model of development, neither universalistic nor liberalist, nor a recently advocated 'welfare society' model.