William Beveridge
William Beveridge
William Henry Beveridge, 1st Baron Beveridge KCBwas a British economist, noted progressive and social reformer. He is best known for his 1942 report Social Insurance and Allied Serviceswhich served as the basis for the post-World War II welfare state put in place by the Labour government elected in 1945. He was considered an authority on unemployment insurance from early in his career, served under Winston Churchill on the Board of Trade as Director of the newly created labour exchanges and...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionEconomist
Date of Birth5 March 1879
William Beveridge quotes about
Not only the worst of my sins, but the best of my duties speak me a child of Adam
The State, in organizing 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.
Unemployment is like a headache or a high temperature - unpleasant and exhausting but not carrying in itself any explanation of its cause.
The human mind likes a strange idea as little as the body likes a strange protein and resists it with a similar energy.
I have spent most of my life most happily making plans for others to carry out.
There is no inherent mechanism in our present system which can with certainty prevent competitive sectional bargaining for wages from setting up a vicious spiral of rising prices under full employment.
A cockle-fish may as soon crowd the ocean into its narrow shell, as vain man ever comprehend the decrees of God!
Scratch a pessimist and you will often find a defender of privilege.