Paxman vs Brand

Myranda

There are important reasons from even a selfish point of view to encourage a welfare state.

Those who are in abject poverty and are starving may well start stealing from the well off. So if if you feed and clothe and house the poor they're less likely to rob you and kill you to have a warm place to stay.

Health among the poorest people is often an issue - the more sick people there are as vectors for disease the more likely you are to get sick. 

It's cheaper to fund the welfare state than it would be to fund some form of police state to deal with the unruly poor, and it's better for health at a lower cost than the rich would need to pay to stay healthy surrounded by all the starving unhealthy poor.

The idea that the welfare state is only to rob from the rich to buy votes misses all of the real and tangible benefits