The impact of Neoliberalism through ideas of productivity - The Case of Child Welfare in Denmark

This chapter discusses and explores how it is possible to understand and explore the impact of neo-liberalism in a national context exemplified by the case of child welfare Denmark. It briefly discusses the problems and potentials for analysing the impact of neo-liberalism on a social democratic welfare state. The chapter expresses that social democratic welfare states are based on a collectivized as well as an individualized way of ordering the relation between the state, the market and the public, enabling a certain form of solidarity. It explores the impact of neo-liberalism by analysing how the political idea of child welfare has developed in Denmark since the beginning of the twentieth century and up until today. An important point is that an impact of neo-liberalism is only possible if there is a rationale inherent in the social democratic welfare state that makes such an impact possible.