The liberal script assigns the free market as the key mechanism of allocation, which invariably results in uneven outcomes. Welfare states attempt to reduce inequalities via, for instance, progressive taxation. Efforts to address one form of inequality may negatively impact another inequality. For instance, efforts to increase gender equality may lead to greater inequality across social class. In addition, the sustainability of welfare states becomes questionable when faced with reduced tax bases due to declining birth rates, aging populations, and tax evasion. Adding to that complexity are the rights and opportunities for immigrants in a given country. This panel invites contributions on questions such as: Are the current contestations part of a longer-term social history, or are they more a product of a post-Cold War world? What happens to public support for the welfare state as inequality increases? Is the crisis of the liberal script a crisis of capitalism?