A positive case for collectively provided benefits | Letters

The Guardian’s editorial (Mean and arbitrary: this is not the future Mrs May promised, 3 April) is right to point to the brutal cuts to benefits. However, its argument that these are “mean and arbitrary” underplays their ideological significance. Theresa May’s government is not enforcing policies driven by a desire to be spiteful or miserly to particular groups (although that is how it may seem). Its approach to social security policy reflects deeply held, classic liberal