This wide-ranging text introduces students to the diversity of theoretical perspectives on welfare, looking at how different schools of thought have evolved, how they have responded to changing conditions, how they have conflicted, or borrowed from, one another. The book offers a clear conceptual understanding and crisp evaluation of key theorists, both illuminating the distinctiveness of each ideology and highlighting important continuities in thought. It goes on to illustrate how these theories are reflected in and challenge the development of welfare policy.