Social Policy Flashcards
What is the New Right view?
- have distinct and traditional views on the family -> should be based on heterosexual marriage between two parents
- all other family arrangements are deviant and a threat to the societal stability
- They generally believe the less the state interferes the better, they have only supported policies that reduce state involvement
What are some New Right studies?
- Murray : benefits encourage dysfunctional families
- Dennis + Erdos : one of societies biggest problems is fatherless families-women are unable to socialise children effectively
What are the two criticisms of the New Right outlook?
- Feminism: a form of patriarchy that attacks single parent families and implies a women’s place is in the home
- Marxist : poverty and inequality are not the fault of the individual but the result of social structure
What is the New labour outlook?
- See the family as the basis of society and should be headed by a married heterosexual couple
- rejected NR view that nuclear family is only acceptable form and should have 1 (male)earner
- recognised social changes and that policy that assumes all families are nuclear cannot be implemented
What are some New Labour policies and what do they show about the outlook?
- Maternity and Paternity leave
- Working family tax credits
- Show that they have an acceptance of diversity as well as promoting the traditional nuclear family
What are some criticisms of the New Labour outlook
- Feminists : preference for nuclear family is patriarchal
- New Right : criticise the support given to family diversity
What is the functionalist outlook?
- believe social policies help the family perform their roles more efficiently
- policies can therefore help support families
What did Fletcher (functionalist) say about social policy?
Introduction of free NHS, compulsory education and housing polices all help families take better care of its members
What are criticisms of the functionalist outlook
- feminists : assumes everyone in the family benefits equally
- Donzelot : policy is a form of state control
- Marxists : assumes policy makes families better, some policies such as cutting benefits disadvantages the working class
What is the liberal feminist outlook?
- Argue that legislation and the changing of law is key in being able to create gender equality
- Woolstonecraft : fought for policies to redress gender inequality
What is the radical feminist outlook?
- social policies often assume that the ideal family is patriarchal
- with a male provider and female homemaker (firestone)
- the norm of what family should be like affects policy
- e.g. universal child benefit is paid to women suggesting that they are the main carer of the children
What is the Marxist outlook
- believe that the state and its policies support capitalism e.g. the low level of state pension
- they argue that once people are too old to produce profit they are maintained at the lowest possible price
- pensions convince the WC its fair but distract them from exploitation
- capitalism has a friendly face e.g. minimum wage
What did Althusser (Marxist) say about social policy?
Policies are an ideological state apparatus which maintains false class consciousness
