Although welfare rights have been established as the legal right

its nature and legitimacy are still widely discussed and questioned. The debate has long gone beyond the scope of law or legal philosophy and has become one of the core issues of social policy ideology. The essence of the issue of welfare rights lies in the relationship between the state welfare supply responsibility and individual freedom

which is the core issue of social policy research. Whether for the Western welfare states or for China

which is currently entering the era of social policy

it has both important theoretical and practical significance. The claims against the welfare rights or the negative position can be summarized as the consequence theory

the community value theory and the individual freedom rights theory. The defense or positive claims mainly include market criticism and correction theory

citizenship theory and positive freedom theory. This article argues that from the premise that the essence of welfare is to expand and realize the conditions of individual substantive freedom

the justification of welfare rights needs to answer the following three questions: Whether welfare can become a right; How welfare can become a right; and How welfare rights can be guaranteed.