Social inequality, the welfare state, and successful ageing

Abstract

Social inequality is one of the major challenges for successful ageing, and the welfare state may alleviate some of the unjust and unfair allocations of resources within a population. Socio-economic differences between individuals permeate life courses from conception to death. The concept of ‘inequality’ points to vertical differences between individuals in connection with unevenly distributed access to goods and resources of value, such as education, prestige, income, and wealth. The disposal of valued resources draws the line between those who have and those who have not. Important facets of social inequality are education, income, wealth, gender, and race. Considering diversity and inequality in a population, welfare states reveal themselves as central actors in shaping requirements for successful ageing.