This volume seeks to trace certain tendencies and developments in social policy in Western Europe and the United States. In the first, which is general, Professor Girod recalls the objectives of social policy as well as offering a number of scenarios or strategies for the future of social policy. The social policy philosophy of Schumpeter, Hayek and Ropke, and their current vitality, are traced by Professor de Luabier. Professor Delcourt, in his chapter on Social Policy - crisis or mutation?, presents a critical analysis of various trends in social policy and in particular the elitist...