The lecture develops a normative ideal typical theory of the welfare state and discusses four inherent dilemmas or tensions:
- Dilemmas or tensions following from the absence of role reversibility;
- Dilemmas or tensions concerned with the weakening of personal responsibility (spontaneous humanity replaced by formal humanity);
- Dilemmas or tensions following from the individuals- difficulties to behave in correspondence with the welfare state’s order of being;
- Dilemmas or tensions between individual incentives and civic virtues.