The thing with welfare (and really any government service) is that it should be ended gradually so people have time to adjust (financially or mentally). While theft may be wrong, if people still depend on it to live (or at least think they do) then you don't want to pull the rug out from under them. That will just make them angry and demand even more services. Progressivism was successfully implemented because it was done slowly. Freedom should probably be achieved in much the same way even if it means my generation and possibly a couple generations after will never see it fully realized.
ETA: However, ending it gradually is kind of hard to do since there seems to be a large amount of people that believe even a 1% decrease in spending is wrong. So what ends up happening is that the rope in this game of governments is pulled hard in short jerks and eventually breaks.