INTERNATIONAL
WORKSHOP ON
TOWARDS
A WELFARE POLITICS:
Possible ways of theorizing a
welfare community/society
(Theme-note draft)
This workshop
proposes to debate on different ways of understanding the emerging
socio-cultural activism phenomenon in the contemporary world that may be termed
as ‘welfare politics.’ The concept welfare politics signifies an approach which
emphases upon the autonomy of welfare activities or practices, without being controlled
by or subordinated to the power politics of the state or state-like
institutions in society. However, there may also have arguments that welfare
politics can very well signify the social welfare services rendered by the
welfare state agencies. Thus, at the outset itself, this workshop can offer a
full-fledged debate on the two contrasting positions regarding the nature of
the conceptualization of welfare politics. Indeed, its argumentative thrust
wants to be laid upon exploring the feasibility of a non-statist welfare
politics, keeping a welfare community/society in target, as alternative to the prevailing
conceptions of legal, economic, political, or civil society.
If we go by the experiences of Capitalist, Socialist, and
other forms of modern political economy, potential of the state centric
agencies to deliver governance for the creation of welfare society/community
seems to have become suspicion. Concepts such as welfare state, welfare
democracy, welfare governance, welfare economy, welfare Capitalism, social
welfare, State-Socialism, State-Capitalism, mixed economy, planned economy, liberal
democracy, Social democracy, new democracy, peoples’ democracy, sustainable development, holistic
development, decentralized governance, peoples’ planning, have been floated in order to convey its
presumed role-change towards peoples’ wellbeing. Despite this, the process of
state system continues to keep failing its promises.
Besides the aggravation of the problems of inequity and economic
crises, the environmental disasters and health hazards are on perilously high. Does
political freedom or economic development necessarily lead to the wellbeing of
a society? Does the concept welfare imply anything other than formal democracy
and economic growth? Is welfare only a matter
of the state support for the needy and vulnerable? Is it possible to conceive the
prevalence any meaningful domain of welfare unconnected to the supervision of the
state and its civil society extension? If so is it possible for strengthening
its autonomy without being patronized as the state apparatus?
What seems to be at stuck is the perception that it is the
state which is the sole agency for delivering wellbeing and freedom directly or
indirectly. If viewed in this way, the
state might continue to remain as the major source of problem of social inequality
and injustice. Hence, sometimes the idea of ‘welfare politics’ is also taken as
a matter of political process related to the welfare state.
According to the concept welfare state, it is the priority of government to
ensure the social wellbeing of its citizens on the basis of the principles of equality
and social justice. However, the way in which the concept ‘welfare politics’ is
proposed here has a contrasting sense to the state centric power politics. Some
ways in which this issue of non-state domain of political process has been
explored can be seen in the discourse related the concept of civil society. But
even in such discourse, civil society is often seen as conflated with the
state. Hence, it seems to be worthy to begin the exploration on the feasibility
of a non-state centric welfare politics from within the varied levels in which
the relationship between civil society and the state has been thought of.
The conflation of civil society and state
sometimes goes to the extent that some of the civil society institutions
assuming the status of state or supra-state power. What would be the
qualitative difference if civil society is seen as if a change in the matter of
distribution or decentering of the state-like power to independent domains of
social life? Can civil society, as an
extension of the state, deliver anything substantially better in the creation
of welfare of society? Is it possible to conceive any other means to realize
welfare society other than in the civil society modes? During the last decades
of the twentieth century, there had a revival of theorizing on civil society as
a critical space for the minimizing the interventionist role of the state, following
the resurgence against the authoritarian socialist/communist states, though their
ideological promoters wanted the elimination of the state as such. Taking cue
from such theorizations on the political autonomy of civil society, it may be
possible to formulate viable arguments for more critical non-state domains of
welfare practices. In order to make sense of the theoretical possibility of a welfare
community/society beyond the state and supra state power structures, a closer look at the history of non-formal/traditional
streams of welfare practices seems to instructive.
[The
workshop is only under planning. We look forward to get contact with potential
scholars/practitioners. Co-operation of interested collaborators and sponsors
is also solicited.]
For details: Coordinator.www.welfarepolity.blogspot.com
91+9447262817
