Changes and Turning Points in Welfare History. A case study: A Comparison of France and Italy in the Forties

An interesting case study in the history of welfare systems is the comparison between France and Italy. In fact, in the 1940s both countries had to tackle a very similar dilemma: the corrective reform of their existing welfare or the institution of reforms in line with the ‘universal’ model. This was a crucial turning point. Understanding these dynamics means grasping the significance of one of the most important moments in the history of the welfare state. The proposed reforms were ultimately rejected. Why? The aim of this article is to try to provide an answer to this question, examining the issue at various levels. It highlights the interactions between the top-down choices (the theoretical reflections and the political decisions) and grassroots dynamics (of social groups), and illustrates the decision-making process that led to the final outcome. The article is based largely on documents, often unpublished, from both French and Italian archives. In France the National Archives were consulted, where the documents of the legislative commissions of the National Assembly and the reports of the prefectures are stored, as well as the documents kept in the archives of Alexandre Parodi, Minister of Social Affairs. In Italy the documents consulted were mainly those of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and the private papers of Ludovico D'Aragona, who led the work of the commission charged with drafting the reform.