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In this controversial book, James Bartholomew argues that the welfare state in Britain has resulted in a generation of badly educated and dependent citizens, leading to lives of deprivation for thousands and undermining the original intent behind its creation in the 1940s. Has the welfare state really led to more harm than good? What does this imply for the ever-expanding welfare state in the United States?

"A splendid book. A devastating critique of the welfare state. A page-turner, yet also extensively sourced. I congratulate Mr. Bartholomew." – Milton Friedman

James Bartholomew

James Bartholomew trained as a banker in the City of London before moving into journalism with the Financial Timesand the Far Eastern Economic Review, for whom he worked in Hong Kong and Tokyo. Returning to England on the Trans-Siberian Railway through communist China and the Soviet Union – an experience which influenced his political outlook – he subsequently became a leader writer on The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail.
After many years of writing comment features for a variety of national newspapers, he continues to write these occasionally – most recently for the Daily Express and The Spectator. He writes a column for The Daily Telegraph on investment.
He has made many appearances on radio and television, particularly since The Welfare State We’re In was published. Most notably, he put forward his arguments in a 45 minute BBC Radio 4 programme where he was opposed by four people including two professors of the London School of Economics and an MP. In 2010 he gave a talk on Radio 4 in which he advocated the abolition of the NHS. In the same year, he also gave interviews for a Channel 4 documentary on debt and failed government expenditure. He has given talks on welfare state issues in America, Germany, Italy, Slovakia and Switzerland. For two years he was the Earhart Foundation Senior Fellow in Social Policy at the Institute of Economic Affairs. He remains a fellow of the Institute of Economic Affairs and is also a fellow of the Adam Smith Institute. During 2011 he will be going to give a talk in Sweden and doing further research there. He will also be making a trip to Italy.
The Welfare State We’re In was the winner of the Institute of Economic Affairs’ 2005 Arthur Seldon Award for Excellence.
The Welfare State We’re In also won the 2007 Sir Anthony Fisher Memorial Award which is awarded by the Atlas Foundation in America. More precisely, the award is made to the think tank or institute which is associated with what the judges regard as the best publication. The book won in the ‘established institute’ category from over 70 entrants.
James Bartholomew’s previous books were very different in nature:  The Richest Man in the World: The Sultan of Brunei and Yew and Non-Yew.