Social security, full employment and voluntary action: the three pillars of William Beveridge's welfare society

William Beveridge's report on Social insurance and allied services has often been described as a 'blueprint' for the creation of Britain's postwar welfare state. However, it was only one of three major reports which Beveridge produced during the 1940s. This paper looks at all three reports and places them in the context of Beveridge's other writings and developments in the history of British social policy. It explores the different ways in which Beveridge's ideas about the importance of individual liberty, the role of state intervention and the different forms of voluntary action intersected during this period.