social policy

Question 1

what is social policy?

Answer 1

plans and actions of state agencies, such as health and social services, schools and the welfare benefits system

Question 2

what are social policies based on?

Answer 2

laws introduced by the government

Question 3

what do social policies usually affect?

Answer 3

families, since they regulate family life

Question 4

social policies which impact families directly

Answer 4

marriage
divorce
abortion
contraception
child protection
adoption

Question 5

social policies which impact families indirectly

Answer 5

compulsory education enables parents and caregivers to work schools provide free childminding

care in the community - often family members have to care for sick or elderly

taxation policies affect how much money is taken from families & how much available to pay for services for families

Question 6

nazi germany

Answer 6

government decided only who they defined as ‘racially pure’ should have children

women were kept out of the workforce

375,000 disabled people were sterilised

Question 7

soviet union and russia

Answer 7

abolishing patriarchal family- russian revolution (1917) laws make divorce and abortion easier

guaranteed equality - women entered work force and workplace nurseries provided

new soviet state had many problems - so policy changed- parenthood glorified, divorce laws tightened, families with more children awarded bigger family allowances

Question 8

china

Answer 8

only allowed 1 child, if you had more than one you had to pay a fine

attempt to slow the growth of the population

unequal ratio of boys to girls - 8/1000 people in a school were female

two child policy in 2015

three child policy in 2021

ageing population

Question 9

functionalism

Answer 9

consensus perspective

the state acts in the interests of society as a whole and its social policies are good for everyone

fletcher (1966) - the welfare state, education, nhs and housing help the family to perform it’s functions more effectivley

Question 10

criticisms of functionalism

Answer 10

assumes all members of the family benefit from social policy, feminists say that policies benefit men at the expense of women

assumes a ‘march of progress’ with social policy making life better & better

marxists point to cuts in welfare services which can turn the clock back by cutting welfare to poor families

Question 11

donzelot - the policing of families

Answer 11

donzelot sees policy as a form of state power over families

donzelot uses foucault’s idea of surveillance to show how teachers, doctors and nurses use their knowledge to control and change families

surveillance is not targeted equally on all social classes.

poor families are most likely to be seen as ‘problem’ families & the victims of crime and anti- social behaviour

compulsory parenting orders & parenting classes are ways in which the working class are taught the ‘correct’ way to bring up their children

Question 12

evaluation of functionalism

Answer 12

rejects march of progress view, shows how state policy is a form of social control of the family

by focusing on micro level of how caring professions act as agents of social control, donzelot shows how professional knowledge acts as a form of power and control

marxist & feminists however argue that he fails to identify who benefits from such surveillance

Question 13

the new right

Answer 13

support the traditional nuclear family & believe that social policies should avoid doing anything that undermines it

almond - state policies have created family diversity that are threatening the conventional family

murray - government policies act as ‘perverse incentives’ which undermine the family and create welfare dependency

the solution is to cut welfare benefits & to encourage policies that make the family more self reliant.

Question 14

criticisms of the new right

Answer 14

feminists argue they want a return to the traditional patriarchal family that oppressed women

assumes nuclear family is natural not socially constructed.

wallace and abbott - cutting benefits would drive more people into poverty

Question 15

feminism - policy as self fulfilling

Answer 15

social policies assume that the ideal family is the patriarchal nuclear
family.

this idea of what the family should be affects the kind of policies
put into place

they often reinforce that particular family type.

Question 16

feminism - policies supporting the nuclear family

Answer 16

feminists have identified a number of policies that help maintain the nuclear family:

• tax and benefit policies
• childcare
• care for sick and elderly

Question 17

criticisms of feminism

Answer 17

not all policies maintain patriarchy, e.g. equal pay act.

a number of policies have been implemented to improve the position of women in the family and wider society.

Question 18

feminism and gender regimes

Answer 18

feminists argue that social policies reinforce the patriarchal family

for instance tax benefits to married but not cohabiting couples

although maternity leave policies benefit women, they also reinforce patriarchy and the assumption that childcare is the mother’s responsibility

drew - uses the concept of ‘gender regimes’ to describe how social policies in different countries can either encourage or discourage gender equality

traditional ‘familistic’ gender regimes

more equal ‘individualistic’ gender regimes

Question 19

drew - gender regimes

Answer 19

gender regimes- social policies can encourage or discourage gender equality

familistic gender regimes- based on traditional gender division

individualistic gender regimes - based on the belief that husbands and wives should be treated the same

most eu countries moving towards an individualistic gender regime

recession cutbacks on welfare pressure on women

move towards the market rather than relying on the state:
. private healthcare
· private pension