Book review: good times, bad times: the welfare myth of them and us

Two-thirds of UK government spending now goes on the welfare state and where the money is spent – healthcare, education, pensions, benefits – is the centre of political and public debate. Good Times, bad times says this debate is dominated by the myth that the population divides into those who benefit from the welfare state and those who pay into it – “skivers” and “strivers”, “them” and “us”. Jon Dean thinks this book makes a case for the importance of social science analysis purely through its quality; he has rarely been gladder to have read a book.