social policies Flashcards
definition of social policy
plans and actions set out by the government helping to tackle social issues
examples of social policies directly impacting the family
adoption rights - created more same-sex families, lone parent families
tax break for married couples - created more nuclear families
examples of social policies indirectly impacting the family
compulsory education act - women have access to better education, more women working so they postpone having a family = smaller families
equal pay act - women earn the same as men so focus on their career and remain childless
examples of cross cultural policies impacting family
china - one child policy created to control population growth by pressuring women to get sterilised after their first baby, rewarded with free childcare
nazi germany - creating a master race by eliminating all jews, placed restrictions on abortion, sterilised 375000 women
functionalism - view of social policies (fletcher)
social policies help the family to perform its functions and benefits everyone in society
the NHS takes care of ill family members to make them better to continue playing their roles
functionalism - ao3 on social policies
social policies don’t benefit everyone e.g. benefit men more than women according to radical feminists
social policies don’t always make family life better e.g. cut on welfare benefits may worsen financial struggles for poor families
feminism - view of social policies
social policies oppresses women and maintains patriarchy by reinforcing the nuclear family with separate gender roles
tax and benefit policies - encourages marriage which is oppressive to women and makes divorce less likely
maternity leave policies - women take 9 months off while men only take 2 weeks off, forcing women to take up the expressive role and making them more financially dependent on men
feminism - ao3 on social policies
liberal feminists argue there has been a march of progress so some social policies do aid women e.g. divorce reform act
a new childcare policy makes working parents entitled to 15 hours free childcare which helps women get back into work
marxism - view of social policies
social policies serve capitalism e.g. state pensions are low level showing workers who retire are maintained at the lowest cost once they are of no use to the bourgeoisie
the NHS is the ‘caring face of capitalism’ - it makes the government look good and as if they care about free healthcare, in reality it makes people better so they can go back to work, be economically productive and benefit capitalism
marxism - ao3 on social policies
some social policies aim to heal class struggles e.g. compulsory education, healthcare
BUT marxists see this as a disguise to benefit capitalism
new right - view of social policies
social policies are a result of increased family diversity which has created a dependency culture (relying on benefits) so social policies should reinforce the importance of marriage/nuclear family
tax breaks for married couples - encourages marriage
child support agency - absent fathers have to pay to support their children, makes women less likely to rely on benefits
new right - ao3 on social policies
abolishing the welfare system can have negative effects on poor families as they become poorer
radical feminists argue this view reinforces patriarchy
donzelot - view of social policies
social policies allow the state to control the family - certain professionals carry out surveillance on the family such as social workers to police them, which happens more often in wc families
donzelot - ao3 on social policies
marxists and feminists argue there is no full identification on who benefits from the surveillance of families
