This pioneering study investigates the consequences of social indivualization and economic globalization on the welfare state. With a particular focus on solidarity, or the willingness to accept shared risks, the editors look at the dynamics between the aging and the young, the healthy and the sick, and the working and unemployed within welfare states. The Transformation of Solidarity translates recent changes in the global economy into risk management strategies for businesses, unions, and government administrators, while pinpointing how the public views these risks. The editors of this important volume bring together a wide range of papers that approach this topic from a variety of perspectives, and they provide a vital new tool for understanding how welfare states operate.