The way governments try to provide for the less well off and reduce social inequality.

• A. Welfare state
• B. Meritocracy
• C. Dependency culture
• D. Social inequality

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is how a government actively supports people who are worse off and tries to lessen inequality through public policies. The welfare state is the system that does this. It includes programs like health care, pensions, unemployment benefits, public education, and housing assistance funded by taxation. By providing these services and transfers, the government redistributes resources to raise living standards and reduce gaps between rich and poor.

Other terms describe different things: meritocracy is about rewarding people for ability and effort, not about providing for those in need; dependency culture is a critique suggesting welfare can create reliance, not the system itself; social inequality is the outcome of unequal resources, not the policy approach to address it.