Political economy of welfare in the 21st century is commonly characterized by the notion of globalisation where global neo-liberalism is argued to have penetrated beyond national territories and ended up in the formation of a world market. In the social domain globalisation is regarded to have compressed international distance through the compression of time, and developed towards the formation of global consciousness. In the domination of global neo-liberalism social welfare in favour of redistribution is greatly constrained both ideologically and practically in terms of welfare policies. This paper examines the ways in which globalisation interlocks with local political structures in Hong Kong. Basing on anti-poverty policy, the author argues that the limit of social policy in alleviating poverty is not simply constrained by the global market. Where there is levy for change, the possibility is greatly limited by local capital, which for a long time has enjoyed protected privileges in Hong Kong.

廿一世紀社會福利的政治經濟學，經常被「全球化」的觀念概 括。在「全球化」的支配下，「新自由主義」透過全球資本無限制的 流動穿越國界，一方面創造了一個全球市場，並大大減弱了國家對本 地社會政策的管轄權。面對全球的競爭，對低下層有利的分配性福利 政策也因而失去了活力。本文旨在探討「全球化」與本地政治的互 動，並以香港滅貧政策爲例，提出本地政府在福利角色的限制，並非 單是「全球化」的結果，而是本地政治與「全球化」互動互扣的產 物。