This work brings together the different traditions of social policy study - social administration, welfare economics and marxist political economy - to shed light on the complex relationships between the state, poverty and inequality, the current fiscal crisis, bureaucracy and social welfare, and the making and implementation of policy. Their approach is detailed and comparative, considering the functioning and objectives of social policies in advanced Western societies from a British perspective. This book follows on from Michael Hill's "Understanding Social Policy". In explaining the concepts and theories in greater depth, it should be useful for students of sociology, politics, economics and social administration.