Introduction

The introductory chapter presents the history of experiences as a new, conceptually explicit approach to the welfare state. The concept experiencing society crystallizes our approach to how a particular relationship between individual and society is lived. The chapter introduces the lived welfare state both as a methodological concept and as the empirical focus of the book. Haapala, Harjula and Kokko summarize how the new theoretical and methodological insights with a long-term perspective and case studies from three continents enrich the analysis of the welfare state. By recognizing the aim to protect citizens against extreme experiences as the basic experiential idea of a democratic welfare state, the chapter points out the everyday complexities for the legitimacy and resilience of a welfare state.