Once the welfare state was seen as a means to improve peoples lives that should be built upon. Now in all countries welfare provision is under attack. The welfare state is now universally seen as a costly hindrance to the free market. These things, noble as they may be, just cost too much. The Paddington rail disaster is an example of the conflict between the interests of profits and those of safety.
Profitability is undermined by health and safety considerations.
The pressure to squeeze as much out of workers as possible has inevitably lead to attacks on the rights of trade unions. Trade unions in Britain have so few rights now that they are barely able to take industrial action. The global environment Global warming threatens disaster on a historical scale. However, effective action to curb greenhouse pollutants are not taken because it will dent the profits of multinationals. The need to squeeze profits out of anything and everything is even messing with our food.