Customer Reviews

Social Security: History and Politics from the New Deal to the Privatization Debate (Studies in Government & Public Policy)

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I bought this book to read for the 70th anniversary of Social Security (Aug. 14), but it came out earlier than expected. It's good to read a social science book that's not full of jargon or boring policy details. The author gets to the point, and he writes clearly--for an academic. The book is really concise, as it covers nearly eight decades of history in less than 200 pages (w/o the notes). It also addresses broad issues, from the role of unions and business interests to Bush's Social Security agenda. But what I really like is that this book is not just about Social Security: it explains how American institutions work, how politicians and think tanks set the policy agenda, and even why the US doesn't have national health insurance! This book didn't change my life but it certainly helped me to understand why (and how) privatization is now such a big deal.

This book is a must read for those who are interesting how the U.S. Social Security evolved into its present state, and is indispensible for those interested in understanding the context of current political debates (not only in the US, but in other countires - social security debates in other countries have been influenced by the U.S. system, and vice versa). Beland explains the political origins or social security, and it is clear that in order to understand current social security politics, including recent discussion of privatization, you need to start at the beginning.

Beland's study of the history and politics of the U.S. Social Security program provides a solid historical account of the establishment, expansion, and curtailment of old-age insurance. There are, however, flaws. Beland (like many academics) spends too much energy trying to locate his own methodology within existing intellectual fads (a good editor would have cut Chapter 1 by two-thirds its ultimate length). Also, the prose is turgid and repetitive (how many times does Beland really think it is necessary to refer to "credit-claiming strategies"?). And, despite his claims to the contrary, this book really is not for the general reader (any book that uses the term "instauration" should be excised from any general reader's list). Again, it's solid book and should be read by anyone seriously interested in the current Social Security debate. Just keep your expectations within reason.