The defense of the welfare State in Brazil and in the United States of America

Abstract

This paper analyses the connection between the increasing inequality in Brazil and in the United States of America and the need for a welfare State in the twenty first century. On the first part, the consolidation of neoliberalism and the concentration of global wealth are described. On the second part, the crisis of welfare State in both countries and the proposals for a welfare State for the twenty first century are described. The juridical status of social rights is presented with their economic and political disputes, in an interdisciplinary approach. Therefore, the research holds an exploratory methodology, but also uses historical techniques from a critical theory perspective. The results indicate that the mediation of welfare State between capital and labor is weakening. However, there are still scholars and international organizations that support social rights in order to reduce inequality in this new century.