The New Right philosophy is seen as dominant in the western world and a development of the old right. It was thought that it would liberate Britain from its tax burden and led to the Conservative government cutting social expenditure. They see the capitalist system as more than capable of providing all of society wealth and delight.

New Right theorists argue that the welfare system weakens personal initiative and creates a reliance upon the state; trapping many in poverty and creating a dependency. So it becomes extremely difficult to escape. Other than creating a culture of dependency the system leads to high levels of taxation which is damaging to the economy; welfare increases inflation. The welfare system is seen as being too complex and extremely bureaucratic; this can lead to it being a costly system. Welfare is seen as often resulting in the decline of the family unit. One of the main problems is that demand is unlimited and there are constantly rising expectations; with universal benefits being seen as a waste of resources. Their view is that there seemed to be little incentive to return to work. In all they see the welfare system as inefficient. Therefore they suggest reducing the size and expenditure of the state would reduce taxation levels and wean people off welfare; in turn increasing independent and family self-help. Poverty is a moral

and not an economic problem.

New Right do not propose abolishment of the welfare state but would suggest that to combat these problems it is only right to discourage single parenthood and eliminate benefits for unmarried women completely; with a return to the 1960’s where women would actively avoid pregnancy outside of marriage or face drastic economic consequences. It is also suggested that women, if they have no husband and become pregnant, should demand marriage if they were to bear a child for they believe that it is essential that children are brought up in a two parent family. Murray also believes that living apart mothers and fathers can draw more benefit from the state with single mothers being able to afford to be single; whereas in the past they could not. They believe that benefits should only be targeted at those in need, at the bottom of society “the deserving poor”.

The New Right has been criticised for blaming the poor for their own problems, as it adopts the ‘absolute’ definition of poverty; however, the cycle of disadvantage is the problem of society as a whole. Nevertheless, the arguments put forward by the New Right were highly influential during the 1980s and 1990s under the Conservative governments of Thatcher and Major; where the level of benefits were greatly reduced and a restriction was placed on the accessibility of many welfare payments. In an attempt to reduce the state role, taxation was lowered. Since Labour gained power in 1997, the influence of the New Right has declined. It has also been said that the attitudes of the underclass have been exaggerated. 86% of the underclass said they would like to have a job, compared to 57% of those in families where at least one person was working (Heath,1990). There were many sweeping generalisations that have been made about lone parenthood. Murray’s tripod is said to be weak. Single parenthood is often temporary and unemployment statistics do not have a direct link with crime and illegitimacy. Abbot and Wallace argued that the New Right attacked welfare systems “for encouraging deviant lifestyles and family forms” (Haralambos, 2008, p. 510). Payments from welfare allowed single-parent mothers to raise their children alone and divorce laws made it easier to end marriage. These welfare payments increased taxation and forced married women with young children to take paid employment, undermining the nuclear family.