Welfare can be related both to the individual and to the collective and involve
material as well as immaterial needs. Moreover, it will often be connected
to various interpretations of social justice (George & Page 1995). “Welfare” can
also include acts of altruism, channels for the pursuit of self-interest, the exercise
of authority, transition to work, and moral regeneration (Deacon 1992).
Welfare has also been interpreted in a restricted way by looking at it merely biologically,
e.g., how many calories are needed to survive (Spicker 1995). This
approach resembles in many ways the historical analysis of poverty. Welfare,
for others, is “a prominent feature of our common-sense morality” (Sumner
1996, 2).