Book review of James Midgley & David Piachaud (Eds.), Colonialism and Welfare: Social Policy and the British Imperial Legacy. (2011). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. $110.00 (hardcover.

Moore, Melinda Williams

English

ScholarWorks at WMU

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare Volume 39 Issue 1 March - Special Issue on Declining Significance of Race, Revisited Article 11 2012 Review of Colonialism and Welfare: Social Policy and the British Imperial Legacy. James Midgley and David Piachaud (Eds.). Reviewed by Melinda Williams Moore. Melinda Williams Moore University of Georgia Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw  Part of the Social Work Commons Recommended Citation Moore, Melinda Williams (2012) "Review of Colonialism and Welfare: Social Policy and the British Imperial Legacy. James Midgley and David Piachaud (Eds.). Reviewed by Melinda Williams Moore.," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 39 : Iss. 1 , Article 11. Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol39/iss1/11 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Social Work at ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact maira.bundza@wmich.edu. 190 Journal of Sociology & Social Welfareand reciprocity dominate. Ultimately, Kohli and Heady (Ch.17, Vol. 3) conclude that while some "crowding out" likelyhappens-financial support of the elderly is now primarilythe responsibility of the state-other types of family solidarityand support are encouraged and enabled by the welfare state.The study also concludes that while social policies oftentimesemerge in response to economic changes and existing culturalpatterns, they also promote specific goals such as increasedfertility and women's labor force participation, and, in recentyears, an effort to shift assistance tasks to families. The lattertrend, Kohli and Heady argue, may generate a "care crisis,"unless policies support flexible employment and provide fi-nancial support for caregiving, or, as Chevalier (Ch. 13, Vol. 3)shows, it can contribute to gender, class, and ethnic inequali-ties, as families with resources relegate caregiving to immi-grant women, mostly undocumented and poorly paid.This set of volumes is more integrated than many otheredited collections, although numerous chapters with differentauthors do make it more difficult to identify the main argu-ments and pinpoint the evidence supporting them, and thequality of the writing is somewhat uneven. Nevertheless, thefocus on kinship offers an important albeit underutilized lensfor examining cross-national differences in family experiences,gender dynamics, and social policy regimes. The study pro-vides a wealth of information, makes interesting theoreticalarguments, and succeeds at preserving the micro-focus whileconsidering macro-level cultural, economic, and social policyforces underlying kin ties. This blend of micro and macro ap-proaches and the emphasis on theory-driven analyses makefor an exciting set of volumes that will be of much interest tograduate students and scholars in the areas of family, gender,aging, and social policy.Natalia Sarkisian, Department of Sociology, Boston CollegeJames Midgley & David Piachaud (Eds.), Colonialism andWelfare: Social Policy and the British Imperial Legacy. (2011).Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. $110.00(hardcover.)This new book edited by Midgley and Piachaud address-es the limited attention paid by social policy analysts to theBook Reviewsimpact of colonialism on the development of social welfarepolicies. By focusing solely on history of the British Empire onthe development of social welfare policies in the former col-onies, the book makes a strong argument for understandingthe varied ways colonization affected the trajectory of welfare.This approach is informed by authors who are not only socialwork researchers, but also sociologists, historians, policyexperts and development practitioners who hail from severalcountries, including former colonies. By weaving this interdis-ciplinary approach, the book focuses considerable expertise onsocial policy topics as diverse as social assistance, providentfunds, social development, and identify formation.Midgley and Piachaud argue persuasively that socialpolicy analysis must include an historical analysis of theimpact on former colonies of imperialism, both pre- and post-colonization, on current social welfare discussions. The bookacknowledges that the complexity of imperialism and colo-nialism makes a global definition difficult. Given this com-plexity, the book does not assume the experiences among thecountries highlighted in this book-which includes SouthAfrica, India, Hong Kong, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Australia,and the Caribbean region-are generalizable. A few themes doemerge, however, and are cautiously applied to understandingthe impact of British colonization.The book's 12 chapters are organized into three mainparts. Part one consists of an overview of the British Empire,its impact on world history and the origins of social policy inthe British colonies. This section of the book gives an historicalcontext to British colonialism, as well as addressing theoriesand perspectives in social policy studies. Part two containsnine chapters designed as case studies that provide examplesof social welfare policies originating out of the colonial ex-perience. The authors skillfully describe colonization in therespective country, and then trace the development of welfarepolicies through the modern day. Subjects include racial differ-entiation and apartheid in social welfare in South Africa, com-pensatory discrimination policies based on the caste systemin India, and the English Poor Laws in Zimbabwe. Part threebrings these pieces together to address how the colonial legacyimpacts current social policies, and identifies the implica-tions for social policy today. Midgley and Piachaud state thatit is inherently tricky to generalize findings from these case192 Journal of Sociology & Social Welfarestudies to colonialism, but they do identify common strands.Colonization created an ideology that established the BritishEmpire as arbiters of the betterment of the world's people.Slavery and the mass forced migration of people, along withthe insistence on English as the language of government andeducation, have also had lasting impacts on the former colo-nies. Finally, government provided unequal access to servicesamong urban and rural dwellers.There are limitations to the book, which are outlined bythe editors. There is little focus on the social policy impact offorced mass migration and the resulting diaspora, as well ason the impact of the influx of British immigrants into the colo-nies. Additionally, while the social policies of the Dominionsof Australia and South Africa were examined, those of Canadaand New Zealand were not.The book is cohesive and well articulated, a great feat forpulling together a number of authors from different disciplines.Each chapter illuminates the complexities and the contradic-tions inherent in the legacy of colonialism on social welfarepolicy. Indeed, one can only hope that this book becomes thefirst in a series of books examining the legacy of colonialism,not only of the British Empire, but also the French, Dutch, andAmerican Empires. This volume forces the reader to look pastthe Eurocentric, Western model of welfare to focus on the his-tories of countries that are still wrestling with the visible andinvisible structures left by colonialism. While this book willcertainly appeal to social work researchers, practitioners andstudents engaged in international policy and practice, it holdsvalue for those in other fields of social work. The developmentof the American social work profession grew, in part, from theEnglish Poor Laws of this era, and therefore the book providesinsight for social workers still operating under the legacies ofthese policies in countries across the globe.Melinda Williams Moore, School of Social Work,The University of Georgia

Review of \u3cem\u3eColonialism and Welfare: Social Policy and the British Imperial Legacy.\u3c/em\u3e James Midgley and David Piachaud (Eds.). Reviewed by Melinda Williams Moore.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare 
Volume 39 
Issue 1 March - Special Issue on Declining 
Significance of Race, Revisited 
Article 11 
2012 
Review of Colonialism and Welfare: Social Policy and the British 
Imperial Legacy. James Midgley and David Piachaud (Eds.). 
Reviewed by Melinda Williams Moore. 
Melinda Williams Moore 
University of Georgia 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw 
 Part of the Social Work Commons 
Recommended Citation 
Moore, Melinda Williams (2012) "Review of Colonialism and Welfare: Social Policy and the British Imperial 
Legacy. James Midgley and David Piachaud (Eds.). Reviewed by Melinda Williams Moore.," The Journal of 
Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 39 : Iss. 1 , Article 11. 
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol39/iss1/11 
This Book Review is brought to you by the Western 
Michigan University School of Social Work. For more 
information, please contact wmu-
scholarworks@wmich.edu. 
190 Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
and reciprocity dominate. Ultimately, Kohli and Heady (Ch.
17, Vol. 3) conclude that while some "crowding out" likely
happens-financial support of the elderly is now primarily
the responsibility of the state-other types of family solidarity
and support are encouraged and enabled by the welfare state.
The study also concludes that while social policies oftentimes
emerge in response to economic changes and existing cultural
patterns, they also promote specific goals such as increased
fertility and women's labor force participation, and, in recent
years, an effort to shift assistance tasks to families. The latter
trend, Kohli and Heady argue, may generate a "care crisis,"
unless policies support flexible employment and provide fi-
nancial support for caregiving, or, as Chevalier (Ch. 13, Vol. 3)
shows, it can contribute to gender, class, and ethnic inequali-
ties, as families with resources relegate caregiving to immi-
grant women, mostly undocumented and poorly paid.
This set of volumes is more integrated than many other
edited collections, although numerous chapters with different
authors do make it more difficult to identify the main argu-
ments and pinpoint the evidence supporting them, and the
quality of the writing is somewhat uneven. Nevertheless, the
focus on kinship offers an important albeit underutilized lens
for examining cross-national differences in family experiences,
gender dynamics, and social policy regimes. The study pro-
vides a wealth of information, makes interesting theoretical
arguments, and succeeds at preserving the micro-focus while
considering macro-level cultural, economic, and social policy
forces underlying kin ties. This blend of micro and macro ap-
proaches and the emphasis on theory-driven analyses make
for an exciting set of volumes that will be of much interest to
graduate students and scholars in the areas of family, gender,
aging, and social policy.
Natalia Sarkisian, Department of Sociology, Boston College
James Midgley & David Piachaud (Eds.), Colonialism and
Welfare: Social Policy and the British Imperial Legacy. (2011).
Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. $110.00
(hardcover.)
This new book edited by Midgley and Piachaud address-
es the limited attention paid by social policy analysts to the
Book Reviews
impact of colonialism on the development of social welfare
policies. By focusing solely on history of the British Empire on
the development of social welfare policies in the former col-
onies, the book makes a strong argument for understanding
the varied ways colonization affected the trajectory of welfare.
This approach is informed by authors who are not only social
work researchers, but also sociologists, historians, policy
experts and development practitioners who hail from several
countries, including former colonies. By weaving this interdis-
ciplinary approach, the book focuses considerable expertise on
social policy topics as diverse as social assistance, provident
funds, social development, and identify formation.
Midgley and Piachaud argue persuasively that social
policy analysis must include an historical analysis of the
impact on former colonies of imperialism, both pre- and post-
colonization, on current social welfare discussions. The book
acknowledges that the complexity of imperialism and colo-
nialism makes a global definition difficult. Given this com-
plexity, the book does not assume the experiences among the
countries highlighted in this book-which includes South
Africa, India, Hong Kong, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Australia,
and the Caribbean region-are generalizable. A few themes do
emerge, however, and are cautiously applied to understanding
the impact of British colonization.
The book's 12 chapters are organized into three main
parts. Part one consists of an overview of the British Empire,
its impact on world history and the origins of social policy in
the British colonies. This section of the book gives an historical
context to British colonialism, as well as addressing theories
and perspectives in social policy studies. Part two contains
nine chapters designed as case studies that provide examples
of social welfare policies originating out of the colonial ex-
perience. The authors skillfully describe colonization in the
respective country, and then trace the development of welfare
policies through the modern day. Subjects include racial differ-
entiation and apartheid in social welfare in South Africa, com-
pensatory discrimination policies based on the caste system
in India, and the English Poor Laws in Zimbabwe. Part three
brings these pieces together to address how the colonial legacy
impacts current social policies, and identifies the implica-
tions for social policy today. Midgley and Piachaud state that
it is inherently tricky to generalize findings from these case
192 Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
studies to colonialism, but they do identify common strands.
Colonization created an ideology that established the British
Empire as arbiters of the betterment of the world's people.
Slavery and the mass forced migration of people, along with
the insistence on English as the language of government and
education, have also had lasting impacts on the former colo-
nies. Finally, government provided unequal access to services
among urban and rural dwellers.
There are limitations to the book, which are outlined by
the editors. There is little focus on the social policy impact of
forced mass migration and the resulting diaspora, as well as
on the impact of the influx of British immigrants into the colo-
nies. Additionally, while the social policies of the Dominions
of Australia and South Africa were examined, those of Canada
and New Zealand were not.
The book is cohesive and well articulated, a great feat for
pulling together a number of authors from different disciplines.
Each chapter illuminates the complexities and the contradic-
tions inherent in the legacy of colonialism on social welfare
policy. Indeed, one can only hope that this book becomes the
first in a series of books examining the legacy of colonialism,
not only of the British Empire, but also the French, Dutch, and
American Empires. This volume forces the reader to look past
the Eurocentric, Western model of welfare to focus on the his-
tories of countries that are still wrestling with the visible and
invisible structures left by colonialism. While this book will
certainly appeal to social work researchers, practitioners and
students engaged in international policy and practice, it holds
value for those in other fields of social work. The development
of the American social work profession grew, in part, from the
English Poor Laws of this era, and therefore the book provides
insight for social workers still operating under the legacies of
these policies in countries across the globe.
Melinda Williams Moore, School of Social Work,
The University of Georgia


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Review of \u3cem\u3eColonialism and Welfare: Social Policy and the British Imperial Legacy.\u3c/em\u3e James Midgley and David Piachaud (Eds.). Reviewed by Melinda Williams Moore.

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