sociology and social policy

Question 1

functionalists and positivists

Answer 1

Comte and Durkheim - sociology should use science and reason to discover cause of social problems and provide solutions to solve them - part of enlightenment of social progress

Comte - sociology as practical subject should be applied to wider society - providing ideas to reinforce social order and direct social progress
Durkheim - sociology provides ways of restoring order and strengthens integration

state - serves interest of society as whole - social policies help everyone eg nuclear family

Question 2

political left

Answer 2

left realists, social democratic view - new labour 1997 to 2010

• sociologists actively involved in social policy recommendations - help to eradicate social problems eg social exclusions

Townsend - identified extent and causes of poverty in UK - survey of over 2000 households - findings to recommend policies

eg the black report - 1980 - made 37 policy recommendations for reducing class-inequalities in health

Question 3

late modernism

Answer 3

Giddens - sociology can help us in our lives
nine ways sociology contributes to social policy
- awareness of cultural differences, self-awareness and understanding
- changing assumptions
- providing a theoretic frame world - labour gov influenced by Giddens the third way - theoretical basis for social policies
- providing practical professional knowledge
- identifying social problems
- providing evidence
- identifying the unintended consequences of policies
- assessing the results

Question 4

marxism

Answer 4

should not

conflict perspective
Westergaard and Resler criticise townsend - encouraging welfare buys off the w/c and prevents them realising their true class interests - only solve through revolution

state - serves interest of capitalism and ruling class - social policies - promote and sustain capitalism

eg educational policies - next gen of workforce

Question 5

political right

Answer 5

right realists, new right view

state should have minimum involvement in social problems - individuals should have responsibility - neo-liberalism

Murray criticises townsend’s welfare solutions - creates dangerous underclass dependent on welfare

however they are contradictory - governments should intervene if suits own interests eg nuclear family

favour the use of market forces as method of distributing resources eg marketisation of education

Question 6

postmodernism

Answer 6

sociologists in no position to make social policy recommendations

• not possible to objectively identify the truth and therefore all sociological knowledge is uncertain

sociology operates on the group level when in the fact these longer have any relevance eg death of class - Pakulski and Waters

no valid basis for sociological policy intervention

Bauman - pm - sociologists should merely take the role of interpreters - cannot and should not be seen as legislators as they did in modern times