Social Policy Flashcards
views on family policy
-conservative - 79-97
-new labour - 97-2010
-coalition - 2010-2015
conservative view on family policy
-New right view under Thatcher’s government
-banned promotion of homosexuality by local authorities- ban on teaching homosexuality as acceptable family relationship
set up child support agency-father pays for children
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New labour view on family policy
-more positive view on role of social policy
-accept diversity - changes to law on adoption, giving cohabitation + gay couples save rights as to adopt + maternity leave
-support those who are maternally and culturally deprived-e.gm working families tax credits, benefits, EMA-promote students to stay in education for longer
Coalition view on family policy
-conservative party divided between modernists + traditionalists
- divide resulted in the party struggling to maintain consistent policy- e.g ,legalising gay marriage in 2014 (modernist)
-cutting benefits + tuition fee increase (traditionalist)
theoretical views on social policy
-functionalism
-feminism
-new right
-marxism
-donzelot
fuctionalist view on social policy
-state acts in interests of society as whole
-policies help family perform functions more effectively
-Fletcher-NHS services help family to be better able to take care of its members when they are sick.
feminist views on social policy
-rad fem - state policy helps to maintain women’s subordinate position in family
-policies see ideal family as nuclear with separate gender roles
-care for sick + elderly - mainly women - more responsibility - impacts work life
-Leonard-policies seem to support women 0 in fact maintain patriarchy -e.g, maternity leave + childcare allowance
New Right views on social policy
-nuclear family = best family type-natural gender roles
-if roles performed correctly, family will be self - reliant + welfare state will not need to be involved with family life.
-Diversity - created dependency culture
Almond- policies like divorce and gay marriage undermine the idea of lifelong commitment = heterosexual marriage is not superior
-support policies such as; tighter benefit restrictions, better taxes for married couples, child support agency-absent partners pay for children
marxist views on social policies
-state and policies serve capitalism - eg, low level pf state pensions-could be seen as evidence that once workers are too old to produce profits, they are “miantained” at lowest possible costs.
donzelot’s view on social policy
-believes social policy is a way for state to control families
-idea of Foucault + his work on surveillance(idea that we are being watched)
-certain professionals (social workers, health visitors, doctors + police) carry out surveillance of family for state.
-Donzelot calls this “policing the family”
-surveillance occurs more in certain types of families-wc,SPF
