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In recent years, claims that epochal shifts in the socioeconomic landscape demand a reappraisal of the welfare state have become almost commonplace and postmodern, post-Fordist and postindustrial perspectives on the welfare state have all found a place in academic literature. However, while each of these discourses has noted the role of technological change in enabling the emergence of new societal models, in general the significance of such change for social policies has been overlooked. This article argues that there are significant connections between notions of a technologically driven information society and New Labour's vision for welfare. In support of this claim it considers New Labour's outlook on the role of the state in contemporary society and some of the specific policy mechanisms being put in place to help ease the 'transition' to an 'information age' and offers the notion of 'e-galitarianism' as a label for their approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the pressures of globalization, states remain relevant and maintain significant social policy capacities. Fulfilling these capacities has required innovation, with states increasingly acting on a local scale and seeking to leverage other actors' resources to meet their ends. The study of the state-community interface in the construction of the social economy in Québec highlights that the renewed state remains as much an object of social struggle as before. The question for communities in Québec, as elsewhere, is whether they can organize to advance democracy, or whether they will be harnessed to underwrite national accumulation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the prospects for the Scottish parliament to 'contribute to a fairer and more inclusive society' through the use of housing policy. After reviewing concepts of social exclusion and initiatives to increase inclusion, the article considers the powers of the parliament under the Scotland Act 1998. It argues that institutional and resource constraints surround future housing policy interventions and concludes that greater social inclusion is more likely through participation and improved economic prospects than through housing policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]