A welfare state is a statist social system in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the alleged economic and social well-being of the country’s citizens. The term normally implies some form of mixed economy, where statism is intertwined with a certain level of respect for and protection of individual rights. Most countries around the world are welfare statist, for example the United States; the UK and Ireland; other Commonwealth countries such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand; Western Europe (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, etc.); the Nordic countries (Sweden, Denmark, Norway, etc.); Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan; and many others that have been looking to Western societies for socio-political guidance over the past 100 years.
Think Right or Wrong, Not Left or Right 