摘要：There is a "spectre" haunting progressives in the form of confusion over the future of welfare states. It is therefore not surprising, in the face of both structural crises and political assaults, that scholars in North America who once emphasized the "social control" aspects of welfare states have now adopted distinctly defensive postures toward them. Seeking to defend existing welfare programs against attack, they now emphasize their "emancipatory" character, apparently unmindful of their earlier objections to such programs. In Canada, we have witnessed the continuation in certain quarters on the Left of some remarkably statist postures. Assuming that governments should immunize citizens against all social and economic risks, some analysts have shown little regard for the negative dimensions of welfare state intervention.
