What is welfare? Why is it a key part of the common good for all? And how should we go about providing it? InWhy We Need Welfare, social policy expert Pete Alcock explains the challenges that collective welfare faces in a world that so often—and so wrongly—equates it with weakness and dependence. Exploring the complexities involved in the where and how of welfare delivery, and touching on debates about who really benefits from it, Alcock reclaims this vital, urgently needed institution.Drawing examples from around the globe, Alcock offers a fresh perspective on the underlying issues involved in the welfare debate. He looks to problems of poverty and inequality in the United Kingdom; to the role of recent political and economic changes in undermining public investment; as well as to other crucial points of conflict from across Europe and the nations of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development—such as the impact of private health care in the United States. A concise, accessible introduction to the challenges we face and the solutions they demand, Why We Need Welfare is a clarion call for new forms of collective action to meet the growing welfare needs of the twenty-first century.