The Social Marginals and the Mixed Economy of Welfare in Interwar Europe. A Reader of Primary Sources

It is generally thought that the expansion of welfare systems in Europe has developed linearly through the inclusion of wider strata of the population within solidarity bonds. In fact, this process has been ground for academic and public debates, expression of power relations, forms of inclusion/exclusion, and self-help actions. Furthermore, the establishment of social welfare has often resulted from the interrelation between central and local public authorities and the varied array of voluntary associations composing the “mixed economy of welfare”. This reader offers a selection of sources produced by the social marginals or, most of the time, by the actors dealing with them: voluntary and self-help associations, international organisations, and public and local authorities.