For social-democrats the welfare state is not a side issue, but a requirement of democracy. It ensures equal freedom – full freedom. It is in the welfare state that social democratic ideas about freedom are made real. It encompasses not only protection against the arbitrary intrusion of the state or society – for example, freedom of conscience and opinion.

Welfare State and Social Democracy is the third volume in the series of Social Democracy Readers. It builds on the Reader Foundations of Social Democracy, in which the basic values of social democracy are explained, the social models of (economic) liberals, conservatives and social democrats are compared and the differences between libertarian democracy and social democracy are presented.