This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-wales-17504299
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Rowan Williams says state cannot solve all problems | Rowan Williams says state cannot solve all problems |
(40 minutes later) | |
By Daniel Davies BBC Wales news website political reporter | By Daniel Davies BBC Wales news website political reporter |
The Archbishop of Canterbury has said there is a problem of people depending on the welfare state. | The Archbishop of Canterbury has said there is a problem of people depending on the welfare state. |
Dr Rowan Williams said it was wrong to think of "centralised state provision as the solution to everything". | Dr Rowan Williams said it was wrong to think of "centralised state provision as the solution to everything". |
He was delivering a speech at the Welsh assembly following a weekend spent in his native Wales. | He was delivering a speech at the Welsh assembly following a weekend spent in his native Wales. |
Dr Williams, who steps down in December, gave his views on what unites communities. | Dr Williams, who steps down in December, gave his views on what unites communities. |
He said community was incompatible with "passive welfarism" or "passive statism" - "an assumption that the state is the provider of solutions and solver of problems". | He said community was incompatible with "passive welfarism" or "passive statism" - "an assumption that the state is the provider of solutions and solver of problems". |
'Enormous achievements' | 'Enormous achievements' |
He said: "We may bridle as I sometimes instinctively do at the way welfarism is used in a derogatory sense these days, because the achievements of public welfare have been enormous. | He said: "We may bridle as I sometimes instinctively do at the way welfarism is used in a derogatory sense these days, because the achievements of public welfare have been enormous. |
"Yet there is some substance to that suspicious use of welfarism. | "Yet there is some substance to that suspicious use of welfarism. |
"There is a problem about dependency. There is a problem about assuming somebody else resolves the problems and there is certainly a problem about centralised state provision as the solution to everything. | "There is a problem about dependency. There is a problem about assuming somebody else resolves the problems and there is certainly a problem about centralised state provision as the solution to everything. |
"And those who have recently from both left and right pointed out that welfarism is not good news for those who want a mutually responsible active, creative community have not been wrong." | "And those who have recently from both left and right pointed out that welfarism is not good news for those who want a mutually responsible active, creative community have not been wrong." |
Dr Williams's return to Wales included a school assembly in Aberdare, a lecture in Pembrokeshire, and services at St Davids, Llandaff, and Trecynon. | Dr Williams's return to Wales included a school assembly in Aberdare, a lecture in Pembrokeshire, and services at St Davids, Llandaff, and Trecynon. |
On Monday he also saw a debate among young people at the assembly's Pierhead building in Cardiff Bay organised by the educational charity CEWC Cymru, which seeks to develop active citizens. | On Monday he also saw a debate among young people at the assembly's Pierhead building in Cardiff Bay organised by the educational charity CEWC Cymru, which seeks to develop active citizens. |
In his speech, he said it was "vitally important that in the educational world that we take education seriously and do not reduce it to training and skills alone". | |
"We are not simply preparing people to be cogs in a while or items on a list. We are preparing people to understand themselves and the society they inhabit." | |
He praised approaches to health and education policy taken in Wales since devolution, but said there was an "unresolved question about how to break the political mould". | |
"I'm sticking my neck out a bit here, when I look at party divisions in the assembly I note that of course they reproduce to some extent party divisions in the UK more widely. | |
"I'm looking at people around here who belong to Welsh Conservatives, Welsh Liberal Democrats and Welsh Labour groupings and I wonder how the connection is made, whether sometimes there's a temptation to take for granted that you have to reproduce familiar national patterns here." | |
Born in the Swansea Valley, the archbishop's visit came a week after he announced his decision to step down. | Born in the Swansea Valley, the archbishop's visit came a week after he announced his decision to step down. |
He said it was the "proper time" to review his options, and to give his successor time to prepare for the next big conference of the Anglican communion. | He said it was the "proper time" to review his options, and to give his successor time to prepare for the next big conference of the Anglican communion. |
He told BBC Wales that 10 years was a "reasonable time" to do a job. | He told BBC Wales that 10 years was a "reasonable time" to do a job. |
Dr Williams will return to academic life in January as master of Magdalene College at Cambridge University. | Dr Williams will return to academic life in January as master of Magdalene College at Cambridge University. |