--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The welfare state that is built upon this…" description: "\"The welfare state that is built upon this conception seems to prove precisely away from the conservative conception of authoritative and personal gover..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/490/roger-scruton-971_answers_the-welfare-state-that-is-built-upon-thi_2100503.jpg" --- # The welfare state that is built upon this conception seems… ![“The welfare state that is built upon this conception seems to prove precisely away from the conservative conception of authoritative and personal government, towards a labyrinthine privilege sodden structure of anonymous power, structuring a citizenship that is increasingly reluctant to answer for…” quote by Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/490/roger-scruton-971_answers_the-welfare-state-that-is-built-upon-thi_2100503.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/490/roger-scruton-971_answers_the-welfare-state-that-is-built-upon-thi_2100503.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/490/roger-scruton-971_answers_the-welfare-state-that-is-built-upon-thi_2100503.jpg) > “The welfare state that is built upon this conception seems to prove precisely away from the conservative conception of authoritative and personal government, towards a labyrinthine privilege sodden structure of anonymous power, structuring a citizenship that is increasingly reluctant to answer for itself, increasingly parasitic on the dispensations of a bureaucracy towards which it can feel no gratitude.” [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The welfare state, as currently designed, creates a complex, impersonal bureaucracy that erodes personal responsibility. **In simple terms:** Welfare can diminish personal accountability. Key Takeaway Promote policies that empower individuals. Themes government welfare bureaucracy responsibility Mood analytical skeptical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - policy design - community programs - tax reforms - civic education Key Concepts political philosophy social contract citizenship Questions to Reflect On - How can welfare balance support and autonomy? - What reforms encourage self‑reliance? A Different Perspective Some welfare is essential for basic needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Answers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answers/) [Apathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apathy/) [Built](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/built/) [Bureaucracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bureaucracy/) [Citizenship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizenship/) [Citizenship Increasingly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizenship-increasingly-4193641/) [Conception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conception/) [Conservative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservative/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Government Labyrinthine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-labyrinthine-4193640/) [Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Privilege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privilege/) [Privilege Sodden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privilege-sodden-4193639/) [Prove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prove/) [Reluctant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reluctant/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Structure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure/) [Structuring Citizenship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structuring-citizenship-4193638/) [Welfare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/welfare/) [Welfare state](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/welfare-state/) ## Related quotes > [Nothing more guarantees the erosion of character than getting something for nothing. In the liberal welfare state, one develops an entitlement mentality. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/nothing-more-guarantees-the-erosion-of-character-than-getting/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [“Ironically, opponents of basic income on the grounds that it would lead to a dismantling of the welfare state tend to support some variant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/ironically-opponents-of-basic-income-on-the-grounds-that-it-would/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [“The United States, with the greatest ability and the weakest desire to finance a welfare state, winds up in the middle of the pack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-voegeli/the-united-states-with-the-greatest-ability-and-the-weakest-desire-to/) [William Voegeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-voegeli/) > [The black family survived centuries of slavery and generations of Jim Crow, but it has disintegrated in the wake of the liberals' expansion of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-black-family-survived-centuries-of-slavery-and-generations-of-jim/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“the welfare states of western Europe were not politically divisive. 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In the Chalfen lexicon the middle classes were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/unlike-many-others-around-this-time-joyce-felt-no-shame-about-using/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [The cradle-to-grave welfare state diminishes individual initiative and can breed a pervasive sclerosis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-weisberg/the-cradle-to-grave-welfare-state-diminishes-individual-initiative/) [Jacob Weisberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-weisberg/) > [“What was shocking were the rewards my father's cousins had gathered in the intervening couple of decades. They farmed now on thousands of acres,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-connors/what-was-shocking-were-the-rewards-my-father-s-cousins-had-gathered/) [Philip Connors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-connors/) > [The welfare state is the oldest con game in the world. First you take people's money away quietly, and then you give some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-welfare-state-is-the-oldest-con-game-in-the-world-first-you-take/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [I think the state should be as small as possible and only there to pick up where people need help, such as the welfare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-allen/i-think-the-state-should-be-as-small-as-possible-and-only-there-to/) [Heidi Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-allen/) > [“The sewer system is a form of welfare state. It’s a government funnel to the sea.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-sewer-system-is-a-form-of-welfare-state-it-s-a-government-funnel/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The welfare state has done to Black Americans what slavery (and Jim Crow and racism) could not have done. . .break up the black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stossel/the-welfare-state-has-done-to-black-americans-what-slavery-and-jim/) [John Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stossel/) > [The greatest danger to the liberal vision are facts about the consequences of liberalism itself and the laws, policies, and ways of life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-greatest-danger-to-the-liberal-vision-are-facts-about-the/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“But one of the main reasons why Denmark does so well in international happiness surveys is the welfare state, as it reduces uncertainty, worries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meik-wiking/but-one-of-the-main-reasons-why-denmark-does-so-well-in-international/) [Meik Wiking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meik-wiking/) ## More by Roger Scruton > [Beauty is vanishing from our world because we live as though it does not matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/beauty-is-vanishing-from-our-world-because-we-live-as-though-it-does/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“So conceived, the English police force served to emphasize a fundamental truth about the English law, which is that it exists not to control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/so-conceived-the-english-police-force-served-to-emphasize-a/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [My 2018 ended with a hate storm, in response to my appointment as chair of the government's Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/my-2018-ended-with-a-hate-storm-in-response-to-my-appointment-as/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [I've never been an optimist, but that's fine because pessimists have the possibility of being agreeably surprised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/i-ve-never-been-an-optimist-but-that-s-fine-because-pessimists-have/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [Unlike every other product that is now manufactured for the table, wine exists in as many varieties as there are people who produce it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/unlike-every-other-product-that-is-now-manufactured-for-the-table/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [The abstract, unreal freedom of the liberal intellect was really nothing more than childish disobedience, amplified into anarchy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/the-abstract-unreal-freedom-of-the-liberal-intellect-was-really/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“I think we can all see the force of the idea that there are certain things that cannot be done to human beings –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/i-think-we-can-all-see-the-force-of-the-idea-that-there-are-certain/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [When art becomes merely shock value, our sense of humanity is slowly degraded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/when-art-becomes-merely-shock-value-our-sense-of-humanity-is-slowly/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“Western democracies did not create the virtue of citizenship; on the contrary, they grew from it. Nothing is more evident in The Federalist than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/western-democracies-did-not-create-the-virtue-of-citizenship-on-the/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“If one looks back to the French Revolution, one sees just how easy it is for the doctrine of “human rights” to become an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/if-one-looks-back-to-the-french-revolution-one-sees-just-how-easy-it/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“I say it was immediately apparent, but it was not apparent to the intellectual class, which has remained largely wedded to the post-war consensus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/i-say-it-was-immediately-apparent-but-it-was-not-apparent-to-the/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [Conservatives hold on to things not only because they are attached to them, but also because they do not see the sense in radical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/conservatives-hold-on-to-things-not-only-because-they-are-attached-to/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“Academic philosophers in the English speaking world still regard philosophy as Locke defined it in the 17th century, as “the handmaiden of the sciences”:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/academic-philosophers-in-the-english-speaking-world-still-regard/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [Delia Smith is, actually, my bete noire. 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