Family and social policy Flashcards
What is a social policy
A social policy is a plan or course of action introduced by the government in attempt to solve a social problem.
What do the policies of conservative new right ideology and social policy reflect
The general desire of new right politicians to reinforce the nuclear families and conservative attitudes towards family life, which they believe to be under threat.
What are the key features of the new right ideology?
-nuclear families are more functional
-the family should consist of a heterosexual married couple.
-there’s a preference for traditional gender roles
What did Murray (1984) think of last government policies pre-1979?
He believed they contributed to the disintegration of the nuclear family. They attacked the welfare state for what they saw as encouraging ‘deviant lifestyles and family forms’.
What did Murray believe an over generous welfare state acted as an incentive for?
-Young women to become pregnant, knowing the state would look after them and their children
-father to abandon their children as the state would maintain their child
What did Murray think fathers abandoning their children would lead to?
Children, particularly young boys, growing up without a male role model and authority figure leading to discipline problems
What laws were the new right also critical of?
Divorce laws - they believe they made divorce too easy.
What did the new right campaign for?
To reassert traditional morality and family relationships by implementing new policies which supported a return to the traditional nuclear family.
What was the new labours aim?
To strengthen family life.
What did the new labour policies favour?
They favoured the kind of dual-earner neo-conventional family described by the functionalist Chester. They supported single parent families.
What do Marxists think of social policies?
Don’t see them as benefitting all members of society equally. See the state as serving capitalists.
What do functionalists think of social policies?
See the state as acting in the interests of society as a whole and its social policies being good for all.
What do feminists think of social policies?
All social institutions including the state and its policies help maintain womens subordinate position and the unequal gender division
What do post modernists think about social policies?
Say that surveillance is not targeted on all social classes. Poor families are more likely to be seen as problem families and the cause of crime and anti social behaviour .
