Synopsis Social welfare must be part of an effort to create a social order more consistent with fundamental human needs for security, dignity and personal fulfillment. This is the value position taken through this book. In this book, social welfare is analysed in the context of our changing social system and evaluated in the light of our central concern with the development of human potential. Three questions are explored in this book: What is social welfare?, How has it developed and why? And What kind of social welfare philosophy and what programmes do we require to contribute to a more democratic and more human society? A brief overview of answers of these questions are provided in the book for the benefit of research scholars, social workers, and the administrators associated with the planning of various schemes for social welfare.