Abstract
This paper outlines the National Service legislation in the USA introduced by President Clinton in 1993. It summarises some of the reasons why national service has attracted widespread popular and political support and considers the claims made for national service. These include: the potential of service for helping to over-come growing socio-spatial segregation in the USA; its contribution to solving urgent social problems; and its value in reconstructing the welfare agenda, replacing entitlements with programmes which emphasise the reciprocal responsibilities of those receiving aid. Some pilot programmes are examined and the claims of proponents of national service are then examined, putting service legislation in the wider context of the challenges facing the American welfare state and drawing lessons which may be of wider applicability.

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