Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal
Abstract
The article critically examines the cultural, theological, and legal underpinnings of welfare policies in the United States, arguing that these policies are deeply influenced by racialized and gendered stereotypes. It contends that conservative and liberal thinkers alike have framed welfare as a threat to capitalist values, often justifying this stance through theological and postmodernist ideas. The analysis highlights how welfare is constructed as a declaration of dependence, contradicting the ideals of self-reliance and market-driven solutions. The article also critiques the legal system for failing to recognize welfare as a fundamental right, instead treating it as a privilege subject to state discretion.
Disciplines
Comparative and Foreign Law | Law | Law and Race | Social Welfare Law
Recommended Citation
Richard Hardack,
Bad Faith: Race, Religion and the Reformation of Welfare Law,
4
Cardozo Pub. L. Pol’y & Ethics J.
539
(2006).
Available at:
https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/cplpej/vol4/iss3/3