A welfare state isn't automatically the problem nor the cause, which is the glaring flaw I see in these (admittedly self serving from a US political perspective) arguments.
The only real issue with having a welfare state, which in fact applies to everything in society, is having a system that is open to exploit - such as deliberately having multiple children to claim more benefits. This is no different from having a global trading system that is equally open to exploit, for example... one could as easily criticize the obvious failings of the US system of social Darwinism and excess capitalism.
A welfare state makes sense in principal I believe, but it is, again as with everything in our society, the policing, enforcement and fair participation by individuals that are the challenges with any such policy.
In the UK in particular this is a longer term fallout of some poor social decisions, rapid multi-cultural change combined with the after effects of the class system and the loss of global position of the country.
The riots for sure did not happen because there is a welfare system. The abuse of the welfare system is simply another symptom of the myriad forces behind the circumstances that allowed the riots to occur.
The bottom line is, if you simply step back and seriously consider the real possibilities, no society on Earth is remotely perfect yet and flaws abound everywhere as a result of the organic nature of our species development and the random impacts of chance surrounding the formation of most of our cultures.
Try to be reasonable... its easier than you think...
