William Beveridge quotes

William Beveridge was a British economist and social reformer, widely known for his pivotal role in shaping the modern welfare state. His 1942 Beveridge Report laid the foundation for key reforms in healthcare, social security, and unemployment benefits in the United Kingdom. He became an influential figure in the development of policies aimed at reducing poverty and improving social welfare. Here are 12 of his quotes:

Scratch a pessimist and you find often a defender of privilege.

William Beveridge

The object of government in peace and in war is not the glory of rulers or of races, but the happiness of the common man.

William Beveridge

The state is or can be master of money, but in a free society it is master of very little else.

William Beveridge

The trouble in modern democracy is that men do not approach to leadership 'til they have lost the desire to lead anyone.

William Beveridge

Want is one only of five giants on the road of reconstruction and in some ways the easiest to attack. The others are Disease, Ignorance, Squalor and Idleness.

William Beveridge

Social security must be achieved by co-operation between the State and the individual. The State should offer security for service and contribution. The State in organising security should not stifle incentive, opportunity, responsibility; in establishing a national minimum, it should leave room and encouragement for voluntary action by each individual to provide more than that minimum for himself and his family.

William Beveridge

Any proposals for the future, while they should use to the full the experience gathered in the past, should not be restricted by consideration of sectional interests established in the obtaining of that experience.

William Beveridge

A revolutionary moment in the world's history is a time for revolutions, not for patching.

William Beveridge

Organisation of social insurance should be treated as one part only of a comprehensive policy of social progress.

William Beveridge

Any proposals for the future, while they should use to the full the experience gathered in the past, should not be restricted by consideration of sectional interests established in the obtaining of that experience. Now, when the war is abolishing landmarks of every kind, is the opportunity for using experience in a clear field. A revolutionary moment in the world's history is a time for revolutions, not for patching.

William Beveridge