The book by the English historian and political scientist David Greene, “Return to Civil Society,” is devoted to one of the most controversial problems of liberal theory - the functioning of the social security system without the participation of the state. Detailing the history of English mutual aid societies, Greene argues that the welfare state fulfills its social responsibilities far less effectively than the competitive welfare system that existed in the 19th century under "civic capitalism", which combined economic freedoms with individual responsibility and civil society. activity. Translation: Maxim Korobochkin