Beyond this simple commodification of labour, there is also the exhasperation of inequality – both social and economic – which is birthed from the application of welfare systems within an already ineglitarian society. Although the economic disparities which are deepend due to the implementation of such systems is not immediately visible, the social inequalities which the welfare system created can be seen plainly. As can be the historical trends which such programs surface within, showing correlations which may not be otherwise seen, often due to the common idea that welfare systems are a modern invention, which is not the case in reality.
The way in which economic inequality can be exposed through this system, is by first looking at the guild system of premodern societies. A guild was the union of people of the same trade within a Lord’s land, these guilds would control who could enter that trade, and how that trade could be done. In these times, this idea, while similar to the modern monopoly on the surface, can not be conflated with them. The guild more or less existed to guarantee the inheritance of trades and professions within the same families, as in traditional thought everyone had a place in society, a baker a baker, a field-worker a field-worker1.
Similarly, welfare and progressive taxes under capitalism creates a similar dynamic. When essential services are provided by the State (or contracted on behalf of the State), it in a way forms a guild where that ‘trade’ must be provided by the State and those approved. This leaves the State with discretion over who can access these services, and can justify the removal of individuals from these services with the ‘alternatives’ that the capitalist system offers. As a result, the cycle of inequality perpetuates under State-Sanctioned exclusion23.
Furthermore, seen evidently, these welfare programs create a stigma around those who rely on them; inventing what can be seen as nothing more than a ‘failure class’, an entire class of people whose worth is defined by what they lack. In a study conducted in Australia, it was found that over 50% of the population held the view that those on such welfare programs are lazy, and overall unproductive4. A result of this is that less people wish to seek out welfare5 (a result of which is an even further commodification of labour, for the reasons discussed prior).
This stigma surrounding these also creates an even larger issue for minorities, who are, themselves, more likely to have to rely on these social weflare programs due to discrimination. It was found that 26% of recipients of SNAP were African American, just below the 30% of participants that were White Americans6, yet African Americans make up for a significantly smaller ammount of the population then White Americans (accounting for roughly 14%). Although speculative, this can perhaps be part of the issue iin regards to the increase in neo-nazi and white supremacy groups in the United States, increasing the exposure of existing stereotypes and ‘legitifying’ them7.
Beyond this, social welfare programs under capitalism have been largely unsuccessful, often leading to far less favourable results. Such ideas have been proposed as far back as the American Revolution, and implemented to some degree following the French Revolution. For instance, the Jacobin Constitution explains that all has a right to public relief. Although never fully implemented, this public relief did exist in theory- in practice however, it often led to the demoralization of the impoverished, and created slavery-esque institutions (as they were not exempt from taxation nor debt).
A similar idea can be seen by the practice of ‘homesteading’, common in the United States during the era of manifest destiny. Although not quite the same as welfare programs as we see them today, homesteading was indeed a way to support the public through offering free (or highly discounted land) for all who wishes to expand west. As a result of this, many native americans were pushed from their homes and were forced into war with the United States- as the land given to settlers were often times already inhabited by various tribes.
As can be seen, historically programs that were implemented in order to assist the people often fell into oppressive mechanics. This is not because such programs are inherently bad, but rather because taxation, capital, and colonization are inherently corrupting to these systems, instituting nothing more than means of control or means of profit from them.
1 Steven Epstein, Wage Labour and Guilds in Medieval Europe.
2 It is important to note that under communism, even within Statist forms, although this inequality could be perpetuated, it was unable to be justified under the presence of alternatives, and was thus less prevelant.
3 Loïc Wacquant, Punishing the Poor
4 Timothy P. Schofield, Peter Butterworth, Patterns of Welfare Attitudes in the Australian Population
5 Pablo A. Celhay, Bruce D. Meyer, Nikolas Mittag, Stigma in Welfare Programs
6 FNS Annual Report 2023
7 This is largely speculative, and may be untrue. However, I believe there could be a connection to be made that warrants investigation.