Chapter 4 (Historical Values Influencing Social Problems and Social Policies) Flashcards
What is the definition of a social problem?
Generally recognized as a condition or behavior that needs to be combatted by social policies to satisfy human needs that arise from the social problem. Social problems in the United States are conditions or behavior created by (a) the interaction of our unique historical values and ideologies; (b) our economic structure; and (c) our legacy of discrimination and oppression against certain ethnic groups, individuals with varying sexual orientations, and women.
How is the United States similar to or different from other industrialized countries in how values influence social policies?
The United States is different from other industrialized countries in many ways. It has fewer social welfare policies than other similarly developed countries and is the only developed country without national health insurance. Certain ideologies or values have emerged at various times in U.S. history that work against the construction of equitable policies and instead contribute to the emergence of social problems. Three of these ideologies—a belief in the primacy of the individual (or individualism), a commitment to a strong work ethic, and a belief that government interference is undesirable—along with others, have characterized the United States since its founding.
Why are individualism and self-reliance emphasized in the United States?
This emphasis of individualism includes a belief that the United States has been characterized by what one historian called a “reality of atomistic social freedom. “Because there are no hereditary class lines in the United States, it seems true, theoretically, that individuals are free to move through the social order. In addition, self-reliance, a close cousin to individualism and independence, emphasized that people functioned at their best without government intervention. The self-reliance demonstrated by men at the Western frontier was responsible for the spread of free institutions.
Why are the ideas of work, wealth, and material prosperity so deeply valued in the United States?
Hard work and wealth are a sign one’s drive, discipline, and worth. Material prosperity will follow hard work, the working poor may be seen as not having a proper or sufficient work ethic, in spite of the fact that they may work more than one job in punishing conditions. Thus, poverty may be ignored or even disdained by those who have achieved wealth. The poor are not just poor; they are inferior, according to this way of thinking.
What are the consequences of these beliefs for economically marginalized persons?
Believing in the individual locus of control and in the moral value of hard work and material goods puts at jeopardy those who are unemployed or marginally employed in low-paying jobs. According to this ideology, hard work should lead to success and upward mobility, and those who do not achieve either are judged as personally, if not morally, inadequate. The punishing nature of these beliefs for social work clients is obvious.
Why do few people criticize the economic system in this country?
Reason for this anomaly is the lack of a feudal tradition in American history: Since there is no class oppression in our past, there is little interest in an ideology that promotes class conflict. The argument is that because there is no inherited system of social classes, there are no corresponding political parties to represent these classes. Most Americans instead believe in an open-opportunity structure and a lack of serious political divisions; they appear essentially content with what they choose to see as a democratic and egalitarian society. United States has had no strong left tradition in its political history and no standing political party that offers substantial challenge to the economic system or political institutions.
Why do most people, including the poor, believe in upward mobility and equal opportunity?
Many economically marginalized persons may believe that through their hard work and discipline they can attain higher status, better-paying occupations, and ultimately wealth. The implication is that failure to attain this promise is laid at the door of the individual. Even people who are economically marginalized continue to believe in upward mobility. Americans who currently believe in equal opportunity view it ambiguously and disagree on what is meant by it for many, differences in beginning circumstances, such as gender, economic background, and ethnicity, are not important as long as there are no explicit, legal barriers to deter any group from competing.
How important was social Darwinism in explaining differences between ethnic groups?
Social Darwinism emphasized a periodic suggestion that biological differences are at the root of differing and unequal conditions in ethnic minority groups. While there is no scientific basis for belief in these so-called genetic differences among ethnic groups, discrimination and prejudice make some Americans susceptible to the myths of biological differences.
How have benevolence and altruism been forces for positive reform in American history?
Religious values have fostered the growth of altruism and benevolence in American life, encouraging the impulse to donate to causes and organizations that serve the poor and oppressed. For example, tradition of Christian women reformers was important in the founding of Charity Organization Societies that delivered systematic aid to poor immigrants.
How can the First Amendment to the Constitution be used to promote social justice?
In spite of the difficulties presented by economic inequality and discrimination, these freedoms in the First Amendment to the Constitution resonate deeply with Americans; they can come to life whenever individuals or groups choose to call upon them.
Ideologies
Socially constructed beliefs and values assembled into broader explanatory systems to try to explain disparate events. Ideologies are intended to explain why things happen and what they mean. Ideologies may have been created at a historical moment and passed down to succeeding generations without being questioned or verified.
Are most dominant ideologies conservative or progressive?
Most dominant ideologies are by definition conservative, as they are developed to explain and maintain the status quo.
What are the important functions of ideologies?
(a) offer a systematic explanation of reality internally congruent with other prevailing explanations, (b) reduce anxiety about the different or the unknown, (c) have the potential for social control, (d) offer a sense of predictability, and (e) justify our behavior in a situation.
Metanarrative
Overarching explanations shared by large numbers of people who have the power to define reality. For example, belief that White, middle-class women are more delicate and less intellectually capable than men or that Whites are intellectually superior to other groups were metanarratives.
American exceptionalism
United States developed in ways that are qualitatively different from other industrialized countries. This uniqueness lies in the values, beliefs, and ideologies that developed in this country in the 18th and 19th centuries, partly brought as cultural baggage by early English settlers, partly brought by later immigrants, and partly brought as a consequence of the abundance of land and resources already here.
