Abstract

The paper aims to discuss the legacy of Achille Ardigò’s work on the welfare state. In order to fulfill this aim, the article focuses on two Ardigò’s pieces: Introdu­zione all’analisi sociologica del «welfare state» e delle sue trasformazioni (1977) and Crisi di governabilità e mondi vitali (1980). It is stressed that Ardigò was able to highlight the relevance of the inter-personal relationships and of the inter-personal communication in order both to understand and to transform the social reality. The paper continues by noticing the attention paid by the Italian sociologist to the relationship between social system and individuals, and to the relationship between state and citizens. Ardigò, furthermore, discussed in depth the negative consequences of a too high welfare expenditure and of the bureaucratization of the welfare services. The sociologist, furthermore, conceived the welfare state more as a mechanism of social control than as a way to assure citizens’ social right. Finally, Ardigò was extremely critical towards the neo-corporative profile of the Italian welfare state.