The Passionate Economist

Brian Abel-Smith was one of the most influential expert advisers of the 20th century in shaping social welfare. He was a modern-day Thomas Paine, driven by a strong socialist mission to improve the lives of the poorest. This valuable and accessible book is the first biography of Abel-Smith. It takes a historical perspective to analyse the development of health and social welfare systems since the 1950s, exposing the critical impact of long-running debates on poverty and state responsibility, esp