Trois Lectures ( II ) Equal Opportunities in an Increasingly Hostile World

The trade-off theory rests more on a basic belief than on hard evidence. Serious empirical assessments have generally failed to uncover any serious efficiency losses that can be ascribed to the welfare state. 1 There are equally plausible arguments for why it may contribute to a stronger economy. Healthy and well-educated citizens are more productive, and if they feel secure they are more likely to accept rapid change. Moreover, the ‘equality’ side of the tradeoff is typically way too undefined. To arrive at a minimal level of clarity we need at least to distinguish between equality of outcome and equality of opportunity. We also need to recognize that the connection between equality and social policy is ambiguous and often even contradictory.