Attitudes to government responsibilities are compared in Sweden, eastern and western Germany, and the US, 1990-2006, using data from the International Social Survey Program. A substantial convergence in attitudes is found for the period 1996-2006, since Americans become more positive in their attitudes towards state intervention, while opposite trends are found for Sweden and eastern Germany. While attitudinal differences between countries diminish, class differences are fairly stable, as are the differences between men and women and between different labour market status categories. It is speculated that the 'great risk shift' from employers to employees may be part of the explanation for changing attitudes towards redistributive public policies in the US. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]