Perspectives on social policy and sociology Flashcards
What view did Comte and Durkheim take on sociology?
Comte and Durkheim took the view that sociology was a science and would discover both the cause of social problems and scientifically based solutions to them
What do positivists and functionalists see society as based on.
Positivists and functionalists see society as based on value consensus and free from fundamental conflicts,
What do positivists and functionalists see the state as doing?
they see the state as serving the interests of society as a whole, producing and implementing rational social policies for the good of all. These policies help society run more smoothly and efficiently.
What do positivists and functionalists believe the role of sociologists is?
They believe the sociologists role is to provide the state with objective, scientific information. By investigating social problems and their causes, they provide the state with necessary information on which to base off policies.
What is sociological research like for functionalists and positivists?
In this perspective, sociological research is like medical research where diseases and solutions are found.
What type of social policies do functionalists favour?
Functionalists favour social policies that are “piecemeal social engineering”- approaches that tackle one problem at a time
How do Marxists critique the piece man approach?
The piece man approach has been criticising by Marxists who argue that educational policies aimed at equalising opportunity for children of different classes are often defeated by the influence of poverty in wider society, this means that we need to change the basis structure of society in order to solve these specific problems.
What view does the social democratic perspective take?
Agrees with positivism and functionalism
Favoured major redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor
What does Townsend argue?
Townsend- the rich should be involved in researching social problems and making policy recommendations to eradicate them
What was the Black report and how did the government respond to this?
The Black Report (1980) on class inequality in wealth made 37 policy recommendations for reducing deep rooted inequalities, incl. free school meals and improved working conditions.
This wasn’t implemented by the government due to cost
The government also tried to restrict its publication
what are the two ways in which Marxists reject the social democratic perspective?
Marxists reject that even policies as far reaching as those proposed by the Black Report are enough to solve the problem of inequalities. To solve the problem, we have to abolish its root- capitalism.
Marxists also state that the government is unlikely to introduce costly public spending policies to benefit the working class- as shown by the response to the Black Report
How do postmodernists critique attempts by sociologists to influence social policy?
Postmodernist’s critique attempts by sociologists to influence policy as they see it as being impossible to discover objective truth. This us because all knowledge produced by research is uncertain and therefore can’t be used by sociologists for policy making.
What 3 ways do policies serve the ruling class according to Marxists?
Policies serve the ruling class in these ways:
Policies provide ideological legitimation to mask capitalist exploitation
They maintain the labour force for further exploitation
They are a means of preventing revolution the WC rely on.
What is the only way to gain social equality according to Marxists?
The only way to gain social equality is to overthrow capitalism and create a classless society
What do Marxists believe sociologists main role should be?
Sociologists’ main role should be to criticise social policy. They must reveal the exploitation that underpins exploitation and the ways in which the ruling class uses policy making to mask this exploitation.
What 2 ways can Marxists be critiqued in? Give the social democrats criticism of Marxists.
Marxist explanations are impractical and unrealistic
Social democrats critique them for rejecting the idea that research can help bring about progressive policies within the capitalist system. E.g., policy research has at times had positive impacts on policy.
How is social policy used according to Feminists?
Society is patriarchal (male dominated), benefitting men at the expense of women with men using social policies to ensure women’s subordination,
Give an example of ways in which social policy can be used to keep men dominant according to Feminists.
For example, family policies may assume that the nuclear family is normal with a heterosexual married couple. Thus, if the state offers benefits to married couples but not to cohabiting ones, this may lead to the self-fulfilling prophecy and mean that it becomes difficult for people to live in other kinds of family.
What type of things has feminist research had an impact on?
Feminist research has had an impact on a number of different policies such as learning policies that promote learning materials which promote positive images of females and training teachers that they need to avoid gender bias.
What do liberal feminists encourage?
Liberal feminists encourage anti-discrimination reforms as a way of gaining equality
What do radical feminists encourage?
Radical feminists encourage separatism (the idea that women need to separate themselves from men in order to be free from patriarchy). A policy that reflects this is refuge for women escaping domestic violence, such as the women’s aid federation which has 500+ services.
What does the New Right state about the states involvement in society?
The state should only have minimal involvement in society. The state shouldn’t be involved in things like education, income support or healthcare as this robs people of their freedom to make their own choices and undermines their sense of responsibility. This in turn leads o greater social problems.
What does Murray argue?
Murray- generous welfare benefits act as perverse incentives that make the family self-reliance. They encourage the growth of dependency culture and an underclass of lone mothers, undisciplined children and irresponsible fathers who abandon their families. Because of this, Murray favours a reduction in state spending welfare.
What does the new right think sociologists should do regarding social policies?
Critical of many social policies and see the role of sociologists as proposing alternative policies.
These policies should aim to restore individuals’ responsibility for their own welfare rather than leaving it to the state.
What does the social policy group do?
The Social Policy Group proposes a range of new social policies aimed at the family incl. tax and benefits for stay-at-home mothers.
How does breakdown Britain critique the social policy group?
Breakdown Britain criticises this social policy group fir stripping citizen responsibility and making people too reliant on the government.
How can Murray be critiqued?
The validity of data on which Murray bases his claims about a link between absent fathers and delinquency has been challenged.
How can the New Right be critiqued?
New right policy proposes often use the findings of politically sympathetic Tink Tanks.
