Richard Titmuss was Professor of Social Administration at the London School of Economics (LSE) from 1950 until his premature death in 1973. He had a national and international reputation as a scholar and policy analyst, and his writings and philosophy have influenced generations of students of social policy both within and outside academia. He was the British welfare state’s staunchest defender but also one of its most uncompromising critics; his analysis of its intended and unintended social divisions, always both scholarly and policy relevant, shaped a tradition which is still very much alive and well today.

This volume, Welfare and wellbeing, is a collection of extracts from Titmuss’s published work on social policy from 1942 to 1973. Our intention in compiling it is twofold: first, since most of his books are now out of print, there is a need to make his contribution accessible to those – students and otherwise – who have been frustrated by its inaccessibility. But, second, there are many areas in which what Titmuss had to say about public and private welfare has a new resonance today, as governments, academics and policy strategists grapple with the problems of public versus private spending, continuing inequalities in health and welfare, and many of the social divisions which first focused Richard Titmuss’s thinking on the relationship between the state and the personal welfare of citizens.

Titmuss’s academic career spanned over 30 years. In that time, the breadth, as well as the depth, of his work provided a guide to the parameters of the subject of social policy. Despite the many changes in both theory and practice since his death, his breadth of vision and substantive analysis remain as an enduring example of what the study of social policy can encompass. In the selections chosen for this book, we have sought to provide a sample of the key aspects of that vision and analysis, and to group these around some of the major issues which concerned Titmuss in his working life – and which still concern both students and practitioners today.

The family, poverty and population (Part 1) were among Titmuss’s earliest foci of concern. He appreciated the need to understand the broad social context within which social policies must be constructed and implemented.