Abstract

This article analyses the debate on assistance in the Constituent Assembly in Italy after the Second World War. It highlights the discussions on family, maternity and childhood, in the subcommissions (number one and three) and in the General Assembly, aimed at building a modern assistance system. In particular, the essay explains the position of the socialist Party on this issue and the differences inside it and with other political parties. These years are very important because a new concept of citizenship (democratic citizenship) developed in Western Europe, with a specific focus on social rights. The Welfare State was born in Great Britain and it became an example for the other European Countries. For this reason, the article describes not only the model of assistance formalised in the Constitution, but also the ideological differences between the socialist Party policies and the Beveridge Plan that gave rise to the Welfare State.