Social policy Flashcards
What is a social problem?
What is a sociological problem?
What can a sociological problem include that is not included socially?
What factors may affect whether gov’t decide to act on the findings of sociologists?
-A social problem is some piece of social behaviour that causes public/ or private misery for collective action to solve it, e.g. poverty/crime.
-Any pattern of relationships that calls for a sociological explanation.
-A sociological problem can also include behaviour that society doesn’t normally regard as a problem, e.g. why people are law abiding.
-Policy makers may not act on research frindings based on; electoral popularity, how far the researcher’s values stance matches the gov’ts ideology, the cost of implementing proposals, support or opposition from interest groups(businesses), and possibility critical sociology(i.e.marxism) may be regarded as too extreme.
What did early postivists such as Comte and Durkheim view sociology as? What could this do for society?
What is society based on according to functionalists? Who does the state serve the interest of?
Who’s role is it to provide the info needed for gov’t to implement policies?
What did Durkheim analyse which led him to propose changes?
What type of policies do functionalists prefer? (key term)
Why are these policies criticised by Marxists?
-Early positivists saw sociology as science that would both discover the cause of social problems and provide their solutions. Science and reason could be used to improve society.
-Functionalists see society as based on a value consensus, so the state serves the interests of society as a whole, implementing rational policies for the good of all.
-It is the role of sociologists to provide the state with objective, scientific information on which it can base its policies.
-Durkheim analysed the education system and proposed meritocracy to promote social cohesion by fostering a sense that society was fair.
-Funcs favour policies that are referred to as ‘piecemeal social engineering’- pragmatic rahter than wholesale radical change.
-Criticised by Marxists who argue i.e. educational policies aimed at equalising opportunity are defeated by the influence of poverty in wider society. Therefore we need radical change to undermine wider structrual issues.
What does the social democratic perspective advocate for?
What do they argue should be the role of sociologists?
Which social democrat researched poverty and make recommendations for policies such as fairer, higher benifit levels?
Why do Marxists criticise social democrats?
-Social democrats advocate for a major redistribution of wealth and income from rich to the poor.
-They argue that sociolgoists should be involved in researching social problems and making policy recommendations to eradicate them.
-Townsend.
-Marxists criticise the social democrat perspective, arguing that it is naive to imagine that the capitalist state would implement policies that radically redistribute wealth in favour of the poor.
According to Marx how does the capitalist state maintain itself and prevent revolution?
How does social policy support this factor(welfare state)?
Give an example of how it maintains the labour force for further exploitation?
How does it act as means of preventing revolution?
For marxists what is the role of sociologists?
Why do social democrats criticise marxists?
-Through ideological legitimation.
-Social policies provide ideological legitimation for capitalism e.g. welfare state fives it a ‘human face’.
-Maintains the labour force for further exploitation e.g. the NHS keeps workers fit enough to work.
-Social policies are a means of preventing revolution; e.g. the creation of the welfare state was a way of buying off working class opposition to capitalism.
-Marxists argue the role of sociologists should be to reveal the exploitation that underpins capitalism and the way in which the ruling class use social policies to mask this.
-Social democrats criticise marxists for rejecting the idea that sociological research can help bring about progressive policies within the capitalist system.
What do feminists view society as? What role do the state’s social policies have?
What do liberal feminists focus on regarding policy?
Examples of liberal feminist success?
How has radical feminsts advocation for separatism influenced social policy?
Despite the success of radical/liberal feminsts why do Marx-feminsts+radical feminsts reject these changes as superficial?
-Patriarchal.
-They see the state’s social policies perpetuating women’s subordination.
-Liberal feminists focus on eliminating gender discrimination and inequality through policy.
-Liberal feminists have influenced the decision of gov’t to impose the 1970 Equal Pay Act(ensuring same pay) + Sex Discrimination Act 1977.
-Radical feminists have had influence on social policy too as seen with the establishment of women’s refuges for women escaping domestic violence.
-However, Marxist/radical feminsts argue social policies will never be enough to bring equality for women. They call for more radical changes whcih the current state cannot deliver.
What do postmodernists argue about the idea of ‘truth’?
What does this mean for knowledge produced by research? Policy making?
Subsequently, what role do they argue sociologists must take in regards to social policy?
What other theoretical perspective does this idea for the role of sociologists in relation to social policy does this link with?
-Postmodernists argue it is impossible to discover objective truth.
-Therefore, all knowledge produced by research is uncertain, and so sociological findings cannot provide a satisfactory basis for policy making.
-Postmodernists argue that sociologists can only take the role of ‘interpreters’, offering one view of reality among many, and not the role of ‘legislators’.
-This links with the Marxist perspective who argue it is the role of sociologists to analyse policy rather than influence.
What do the New Right argue regarding the responsibility of the state within society?
What does state intervention undermine? Leading to?
What did Murray argue universal welfare benefits/council housing act as? For who?
What sort of policy research do they advocate for? What type of policies has this been influential in?
Why do postmodernists criticise this approach?
-The New Right argue that the state should have only limited involvement in society; e.g. state welfare provision should be minimal.
-In their view state intervention undermines people’s sense of responsibility, leading to greater social problems.
-Murray argues that policies such as universal welfare benefits and council housing for lone parents act as ‘perverse incentives’ that encourage dependency culture.
-New Right support a strong ‘law and order’ policy and research by right realist criminologists, e.g. Broken Windows, has been influential in the introduction of zero tolerance policies.
-Postmodernists criticise the New Right arguing sociologists should not attempt to influence policy and act as interpreters instead.(Weber-sociologists are academics not politicians.)
