Bienestar y política públicas: la familia como marco de referencia

Abstract

This article analyzes some of the criteria used for giving aid to families through public policies which have been implemented in three different moments in time: first, during the periods of expansion and then of crisis of the welfare state, where we emphasize the limitations of such criteria and the prevailing image of the family that oriented such policies; and finally during the period of the "re-dimensioning" of the welfare state. Far from proposing a family aid policy, we argue that the diversity of the problems involved requires the consideration of other criteria such as co-responsability and differentiation, in addition to those generally contemplated.