social policy

Question 1

Functionalism and social policy

Answer 1

Functionalists argue that the government should create policies that help society function, as
like positivists, they see the state as serving society’s interests.
* EG: educational policies are seen as promoting equal opportunity and social integration, while
health/housing policies help the family perform its functions more effectively.
* Durkheim’s view of sociology being a science where the cause of social problems would be
discovered and fixed was used to improve society.
* EG: his proposals of abolishing inherited wealth and a meritocratic education system were to
make society more cohesive.
* Functionalists tackle one issue at a time with piecemeal social engineering.

Question 2

Feminism and social policy

Answer 2

Society is patriarchal, and the state perpetuates women’s subordination through social policies.
* EG: families policies assume the ‘normal’ family is a conventional nuclear family, therefore only providing them with benefits. This makes it harder for other family types like cohabitating couples to live, and there can be a
self-fulfilling prophecy where the state encourages one type of family type.
* Liberal feminists’ research has however influenced social policies positively, such as influencing education’s learning materials so that they
show positive images of women, as well as training teachers to be sensitised to gender bias.
* Radical feminists have also had influence on social policy, their idea of separatism influencing women’s refuges from domestic violence.
* The Sex Discrimination Act and Equal Pay Act also reflect the feminist view
of gender equality.

Question 3

New right and social policy

Answer 3

Believe the state should have minimal involvement in society, as state intervention into the family,
education, income etc robs people of freedom and undermines their sense of responsibility.
* This means the New Right strongly opposes the welfare state, and Murray argues it acts as a perverse
incentive that weakens the family’s self reliance.
* Murray argues welfare benefits encourages a dependency culture and underclass of lone mothers,
undisciplined children and absent fathers, which is why he favour reduced state spending on welfare.
* The New Right therefore believes the role of sociologists is to provide alternative social policies that restore
individual’s responsibility for their own welfare.

Question 4

Marxism and social policy

Answer 4

• Argue that the state and its policies do not benefit all members of society.
  They believe the state represents the ruling class and its policies serve the interests of
  capitalism:
• Policies provide ideological legitimisation- such as the welfare state giving capitalism a
  ‘caring face’, hiding the exploitation it really causes.
• Policies maintain the labour force for further exploitations- NHS serve capitalism by
  keeping workers fit to work.
• Policies are a means of preventing a WCR- such as the welfare state being made after
  WW2 to buy off WC opposition to capitalism.
  They recognise that social policies do bring some benefits, but this is undermined by the constant threat of welfare cuts.

Question 5

Postmodernism and social policy

Answer 5

• Postmodernists argue that it’s impossible to discover the objective truth.
• This means all sociological research produces uncertain knowledge, which
  can’t be a satisfactory basis for policymaking.
• This view argues that sociologists can only be the role of ‘interpreter’
  when making policies, not ‘legislators’ like functionalists and social
  democrats argue.