Families and social policy (P2) Flashcards
(16 cards)
Give the functionalist perspective on social policy
believe policies benefit everyone and allow the family to perform its functions more effectively.
Fletcher (1966) -the intro of health, education and housing policies since the industrial revolution has led to the creation of the welfare state, which helps the family perform its functions more effectively. E.g, the NHS means that with the help of doctors, etc. the family is better able to take care of sick members.
Give the criticisms to the functionalist view on social policy
Feminists point out that while functionalists assume all family members benefit from policies, they only benefit men.
Marxists argue that functionalists assume there is a ‘march of progress’ with family policies, (that they make family life keep getting better over time) however they can be reversed which ‘turns the clock back’ e.g. cutting benefits to the poor.
Give the new right perspective on social policy
favour n.fam above all others and think policies should promote the n.fam (e.g. giving tax breaks to married couples), discouraging other family types.
They have considerable influence on gov thinking, social policy and its effects on the family. They criticise existing gov policies for undermining the fam. In particular, they argue that govs often weaken the family’s self-reliance by providing generous welfare benefits e.g. council housing for unmarried teenage mothers and cash payments to support lone-parent families.
They argue that social policy has a major impact on fam roles and relationships- encourage a dependency culture, where individuals come to depend on the state to support them and their children rather than being self-reliant.
The New Right’s solution : cut welfare spending and have tighter restrictions on who is eligible for benefits. Cutting benefits would mean less money needed for taxes, which would both encourage fathers to work and provide for their fams.
What are the other policies (besides welfare benefits) that the New Right dislike
*Same sex marriage.
*Laws making divorce easier to get.
*Cohabiting couples being giving the same rights as married couples e.g. pension rights when their partner dies.
Give the criticisms to the new right’s view on social policy
Marxists - benefit cuts would simply drive many poor families into even greater poverty.
Feminists - trad n.fam keeps women oppressed, and that government policies often support this family type.
Describe the conflict view of social policy
Donzelot - policies are used against fams as a form of state power/ control over fams, through surveillance of fams by doctors, health visitors and welfare services, who use their knowledge and power to control and change fams.
Surveillance is not targeted equally on all fams, with a focus on poorer families being blamed for crime and antisocial behaviour. Such services intervene - they see some as ‘problem’ fams and impose compulsory Parenting Orders through the courts, where ‘parents of young ‘problem’ children must attend parenting classes to teach them the ‘correct’ way to bring up children’.
Donzelot argues against march of progress theorists who believe policies have created a better society, as he says policy form of state control over fams
Give the criticisms of conflict view
Ms and Fems criticise him for failing to identify clearly who benefits from such surveillance policies- Ms would say the ruling class, and fems would say men.
Give the feminist perspective on social policy
argue that social policies are often based on the idea of the nuclear family being the ‘normal’ type of family. Such policies assume the patriarchal nuclear family with a male breadwinner and female homemaker is the main type, e.g. While the government provides some childcare for pre-school children, this is not enough to allow both parents to work full-time unless they can meet the additional costs themselves.
Also, school holidays make it difficult for both parents to work full-time unless they can afford extra childcare. As women are generally the parent who does the majority of childcare, this means women are often unable to work full-time, making them financially dependent on their husbands. Similarly, maternity leave is much longer than paternity leave, reinforcing the idea that childcare is the main responsibility of the woman. Therefore, government policies reinforce existing patriarchal roles and relationships.
Give the criticisms of the feminist perspective on social policy
Not all policies benefit men over women, such as the Equal Pay Act and Sexual Discrimination Act - these improve the position of women in terms of employment. Also in terms of families, lesbian couples can now adopt/marry, and the government provides benefits for single parents.
While some policies may reinforce familistic gender regimes (those that are based on the traditional n.fam with a male breadwinner and female homemaker), some may be based on individualistic gender regimes (e.g. in Sweden, policies treat husbands and wives as having equal responsibility for work and domestic tasks). In the UK, couples can now share parental leave, suggesting the gov recognises the increase in women working and the increase in men wanting to contribute to childcare.
Which policies are apart of the Conservative policy 1979-97 (family policy in the UK)
Child support act (1991)
Family Law Act (1996)
Describe the conservative policy (1979-97)
Under Margaret Thatcher, schools/councils were banned from promoting homosexuality as an acceptable fam relationship (Section 28), reflecting New Right ideas.
John Major (Prime Minister from 1990-1997) showed a clear preference for the married couple/ two-parent n.fam. Two main fam policies created under John Major’s rule:
1) Child Support Act (1991)-This forced absent parents, usually fathers, to pay maintenance for the child, to hopefully to reduce welfare payments paid to lone parents. This reflected New Right ideas about making absent parents more responsible for their children and possibly stop some cases of lone-parenthood.
2) Family Law Act (1996) – Introduced a one-year waiting period before couples could divorce. However, it never became law because it was seen as unworkable. Again, this reflected New Right ideas about trying to prevent lone parenthood.
However, some Conservative policies went against New Right ideas, such as making divorce easier to get, and giving illegitimate children the same rights as those born to married parents.
What were the New Labour Policies 1997-2010 that affected families
*The New Deal: helping people out of work find jobs. This is partly aimed at single parents, the majority of which are single mothers.
Since April 2001, lone parents are required to have an annual meeting to discuss job opportunities.
*The introduction of Working Family Tax Credits to give tax breaks to fams where both parents work, encouraging dual earner fams.
*Opening Sure Start Centres - give childcare and support to low income fams.
*Legalising civil partnerships and allowing gay couples to adopt, giving more rights to homosexual couples.
*Parenting Orders for the parents of truants/young offenders
Describe New Labour Policy 1997-2010
Under the govs of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, the focus was not interfering and putting pressure on people into a preferred family form. Although marriage was seen as the best foundation for raising fams (New Right view), Labour recognised that many lone parents and unmarried couples raised fams successfully.
Labour policies that affected families include:
*The New Deal
*The introduction of Working Family Tax Credits
*Opening Sure Start Centres
*Legalising civil partnerships and allowing gay couples to adopt
*Parenting Orders for the parents of truants/young offenders.
While some of these policies reflected NR views (e.g. parenting orders), many went against them, as they showed state intervention (the state getting involved) in fam life.
Describe Coalition Government Policy 2010-15
Some argue the Conservative Party is divided between modernisers (who accept family diversity) and traditionalists (who have New Right views and think diversity is morally wrong). As a result, their policies have reflected both views, such as:
*Cutting child benefit for higher earner couples.
*Legalising gay marriage in 2014.
*Capping welfare benefit.
*Introducing the Bed Room Tax (people living in social housing lost some of their benefits if they had spare bedrooms).
*Cutting funding to local authorities, which has led to the closing of many Sure Start centres.
What were the policies introduced under the coalition government 2010-15
*Cutting child benefit for higher earner couples.
*Legalising gay marriage in 2014.
*Capping welfare benefit.
*Introducing the Bed Room Tax (people living in social housing lost some of their benefits if they had spare bedrooms).
*Cutting funding to local authorities, which has led to the closing of many Sure Start centres.
Give examples of cross cultural family policies
China’s one child policy discouraged couples from having more than one child in an attempt to control population. Couples who comply get extra benefits whilst those who do not comply are fined.
In communist Romania, the state encouraged childbirth and marriage to increase the birth rate e.g. unmarried/childless couples paid more tax, abortion/contraception were restricted.
Nazi Germany encouraged the healthy and ‘racially pure’ to breed a ‘master race’ and restricted abortion and contraception. The state compulsorily sterilised 375,000 disabled people for being ‘unfit’ to breed on grounds of ‘physical malformation, mental retardation, epilepsy, deafness or blindness.’
Some argue that in democratic societies, the state plays less of a role in the family as sees it as a ‘private sphere’, which it rarely interferes with.
