social policies Flashcards
What are social policies?
what is social policies referred to in the exam?
refers to plans, programmes and laws regards to
- health and social services
- welfare benefits
-schools
- other public bodies
with the aims of tackling social issues.
- GOV POLICIES.
What are 4 social policies?
- divorce law reform act 1969
- Sure start
- civil partnership act 2005 and marriage act in 2015
- benefit cuts
divorce law reform act 1969
- who created it?
- what did it do?
- what effect did it have on family?
- who agrees and who disagrees?
- labour
- made divorce easier as no longer need witness or court case to get divorced
- made reconstituted + lone parent families
- created family diversity - feminist= frees women from patrichay marriages
postmodernist= gives indivual choice
- new right are against it because it destroys nuclear family and therefore threatens social stability.
sure start
- who created it?
- what did it do?
- what effect did it have on family?
- who agrees and who disagrees?
- new labour but it was scrapped by coalition government.
- to deliver the best start in life for every child by providing educational classes for children and parents, parenting classes, one off maternity grant and 12.5 hr weekly of free nursey.
- encourage parents to go back into work whilst their under 5s were in nursery
- give advice to parents with “problem child” in order to decrease anti social behaviours and keep them on “straight” path.
- encourage parents to go back into work whilst their under 5s were in nursery
- new right and donzelot are against
civil partnership act 2005 and marriage act 2015.
- who created it?
- what did it do?
- what effect did it have on family?
- who agrees and who disagrees?
- labour
- allowed same sex couples to can adopt and protect their rights
- increased equality and social justice
- created family diversity - feminist and postmodernist agree
- new right disagree = nuclear family is norm
benefit cuts
- who created it?
- what did it do?
- what effect did it have on family?
- who agrees and who disagrees?
- coalition gov since 2010
- decreasing the amount of benefits and encourage them to get job
- all types of of benefits : housing, child and disability - making people even poor
- new right are in favour
- feminist and Marxist are against.
What are 5 theories on social policies?
- functionalist
- donzelot
- new right
- feminist
- Marxist
what is functionalist view on social policies?
what view do they have on social policies?
what do they say ( 2)
who is sociologist and what does he say?
what is evaluation?
- positive view
- they see social policies as being introduced by the government for the good of all.
- social policies help family perform their functions more effectively and make life better for all its family members.
- fletcher argues that introduction to welfare state with housing, health and education policies take pressure of family so family can concentrate on their 4 functions.
evaluation: functionalist assume that sp benefits everyone in the family equally whilst feminist argue social policies benefit men more than women. Marxist say that it makes their lives worse for e.g cutting benefits make poor even poorer.
what is donzelot view on social policies
what does he argue ( 2)
what is evaluation
negative view = sees them as form of state power and control over families
- donzelot based his theory on the work of Foucault a French philosopher who argue government agencies carry out surveillance over the public on behalf of government.
- donzelot use Foucault ideas to argue that social workers, teachers and doctors carry out policing of families with aim of “improving them”. poorer families are most likely to been seen as problem families and policed more. e.g parents whose children are seen as anti social are forced to attend parental classes.
evaluation = fails to explain who benefits from the work of these professionals.
what are new right view on social policies ?
who are 2 sociologist and what do they say?
what is there solution?
what is evaluation?
negative= encourage social change which will threaten traditional nuclear families.
almond = laws have increased divorce e.g same sex partnerships and lone parenthood
- tax laws mean that dual earner couples pay less tax than couples who have one partner who works this will encourage both partners to work which discourage segregated roles in nuclear family.
murray = argues that family is self reliant and capable of taking care of its members so state should not interfere.
- murray argues that benefits provide perverse incentives they reward anti social behaviour by encouraging young teenager women to be pregnant as they will get council house and child benefit.
fathers of these children don’t work as they know state will provide them with benefits this creates a dependency culture.
solution for them : is to decrease benefits and restrict who can get them. for e.g making unmarried teenage girls ineligible for council houses this will discourage them from getting pregnant.
evaluation : abbot and Wallace argue cutting benefits would make poorer families even poorer.
what is feminist view on social policies?
who are 2 sociologist and what do they say?
negative view = maintains patrichay
land =helps maintain women subordinate position and encourage a particular type of family structure.
-social policies assume the ideal family is patrichay nuclear family.
for e.g policies on taxation favour marriage couples which encourages couples to get married and discourages cohabitation.
Leonard = even when social policies appear to support women they still reinforce traditional patrichay family. for e.g maternity leave enables women to receive medical care and recover after childbirth but same time under the impression that childcare is the mother responsibility. also maternity leave pay is really low which makes women financially dependent on her husband.
evaluation : not all laws are patrichay for e.g equal pay act and sex discrimination act.
what is Marxist view on social policies?
negative view = serves intrest of ruling class and maintains capitalism.
- free education, health care and benefits are as result of class struggle.
- they are concession the state had to make to the w.c
- because they feared the consequences if they did nothing to improve their living standards.
- these social policies are just “smoke screen” making life appear better e.g free education and health care are not free as they are both paid through workers taxes and private education is better so ruling class benefit more.
evaluation = deterministic as it assumes all aspects of family life is determined by economic factors.
