Sociology-Families and Households-Social Policy Flashcards

1
Q

How can social policy affect families?

A

The actions and policies of governments can sometimes have profound effects on families and their members. Cross cultural examples from different societies and historical periods can show us some of the more extreme ways in which the state’s policies can affect family life. This can help us to see the relationship between families and social policy in a new light-these examples include: China’s one child policy, communist Romania, Nazi family policy, and democratic societies

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2
Q

How did social policy affect families with china’s one child policy?

A

In China, the government’s population control policy has aimed to discourage couples from having more than one child. The policy is supervised by workplace family planning committees; women must seek their permission to try to become pregnant, and there is often both a waiting list and a quota for each factory. Couples who comply with the policy get extra benefits, such as free child healthcare and higher tax allowances. An only child will also get priority in education and housing later in life. Couples who break their agreement must repay allowances and pay a fine. Women face pressure to undergo sterilisation after their first child

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3
Q

How did social policy affect families with Communist Romania?

A

At the opposite extreme to the one-child policy, the former communist government of Romania in the 1980s introduced a series of policies to try to drive up the birth rate, which had been falling as living standards declined. It restricted contraception and abortion, set up infertility treatment centres, made divorce more difficult, lowered the legal age of marriage to 15 and made unmarried adults and childless couples pay an extra 5% income tax

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4
Q

How did social policy affect families with Nazi family policy?

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In Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the state pursued a twofold policy. On the one hand, it encouraged the healthy and supposedly ‘racially pure’ to breed a ‘master race’ (eg by restricting access to abortion and contraception). Official policy sought to keep women out of the workforce and confine them to ‘children, kitchen and church’, the better to perform their biological role. On the other hand, the state compulsorily sterilised 375,000 disabled people that it deemed unfit to breed on grounds of ‘physical malformation, mental retardation, epilepsy, imbecility, deafness and blindness’. Many of these people were later murdered in Nazi concentration camps

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5
Q

How has social policy affected families in democratic societies?

A

By contrast with other extreme examples, some people argue that in democratic societies such as Britain, the family is a private sphere of life in which the government does not intervene, except perhaps when things ‘go wrong’, for example in cases of child abuse. However, sociologists argue that in fact, even in democratic societies, the state’s social policies play a very important role in shaping family life

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6
Q

What are the different perspectives on families and social policy?

A

Functionalism Donzelot, The New Right, and Feminism

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7
Q

How do functionalists see society, and their social policies?

A

Functionalists see society as built on harmony and consensus (shared values) and free from major conflicts. They see the state as acting in the interests of society as a while and its social policies as being for the good of all. Functionalists see policies as helping families to perform their functions more effectively and make life better for their members

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8
Q

What does Fletcher argue about social policy?

A

Argues that the introduction of health, education and housing policies in the years since the industrial revolution has gradually led to the development of a welfare state that supports the family in performing its functions more effectively-eg NHS means with help of doctors, nurses, hospitals and medicines, the family today is better able to take care of its members when they are sick

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9
Q

What are the two main reasons that the functionalist view on social policy has been criticised?

A

It assumes all members of the family benefit equally from social policies whereas feminists for example argue that policies often benefit men at the expense of women. Also it assumes that there is a ‘march of progress’, with social policies steadily making family life better and better. However, Marxists for example argue that policies can also turn the clock back and reverse progress previously made, for example by cutting welfare benefits to poor families

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10
Q

What is Donzelot’s perspective of family policies?

A

Offers a very different perspective on the relationship between the family and state policies from that of the functionalists. Rather than a consensus view of policy as benefiting the family, Donzelot has a conflict view of society and he sees policy as a form of state power and control over families

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11
Q

What concept does Donzelot use to explain social policies?

A

He uses Foucault’s concept of surveillance. Foucault sees power not just as something held by the government or state, but as diffused throughout society and found within all relationships. In particular, Foucault sees professionals such as doctors and social workers as exercising power over their clients by using their expert knowledge to turn them into ‘cases’ to be dealt with

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12
Q

How does Donzelot apply Foucault’s concept of surveillance to the family?

A

He is interested in how professionals carry out surveillance of families. He argues social workers, health visitors and doctors use their knowledge to control and change families, and he calls this ‘the policing of families’. However surveillance is not targeted equally on all social classes. Poor families are more likely to be seen as ‘problem’ families and as the cause of crime and anti-social behaviour. These are the families that professionals target for ‘improvement’

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13
Q

What does Condry note?

A

The state may seek to control and regulate family life by imposing compulsory parenting orders through the courts. Parents of young offenders, truants or badly behaved children may be forced to attend parenting class to learn the ‘correct’ way to bring up children

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14
Q

What are Donzelot’s views on the functionalist perspective of social policy?

A

He rejects the functionalists’ march of progress view that social policy and the professionals who carry it out have created a better, freer or more humane society. Instead, he sees social policy as a form of state control of the family

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15
Q

What is an advantage of Donzelot’s perspective on families and social policy?

A

By focusing on the micro level of how the ‘caring professions’ act as agents of social control through their surveillance of families, Donzelot shows the importance of professional knowledge as a form of power and control

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16
Q

How has Donzelot’s perspective on families and social policy been criticised?

A

Marxists and feminists criticise Donzelot for failing to identify clearly who benefits from such policies of surveillance. Marxists argue that social policies generally operate int he interests of the capitalist class, while feminists argue that men are the main beneficiaries

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17
Q

What are the New Right’s main views on family?

A

They are strongly in favour of the conventional or ‘traditional’ nuclear family based on a married, heterosexual couple, with a division of labour between a male provider and female homemaker. They see this family type as naturally self-reliant and capable of caring and providing for its members, especially the successful socialisation of children

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18
Q

What are the New Right’s views on new family types?

A

In their view, the changes that have led to greater family diversity, such as increases in divorce, cohabitation, same-sex partnerships and lone parenthood, are threatening the conventional family and producing social problems such as crime and welfare dependency

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19
Q

What are the New Right’s view on families and social policy?

A

They believe they have encouraged changes in family types and helped to undermine the nuclear family

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20
Q

What does Almond argue?

A

Laws making divorce easier undermine the idea of marriage as a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman. The introduction of civil partnerships (and since 2014 marriage) for gay and lesbian couples sends out the message that the state no longer sees heterosexual marriage as superior to other domestic set-ups. Tax laws discriminate against conventional families with a sole breadwinner, they cannot transfer the non-working partner’s tax allowances to the working partner, so they tend to pay more tax than dual-earner couples, each of whom has a tax allowance

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21
Q

What else doe the New Right argue, similar to what Almond argues?

A

They point out that increased rights for unmarried cohabitants, such as adoption rights and succession to council house tenancies and pension rights when a partner dies, begin to make cohabitation and marriage more similar. This sends out the signal that the state does not see marriage as special or better

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22
Q

What does Murray talk about?

A

New Right commentators such as Murray are particularly critical of welfare policy. In their view, providing ‘generous’ welfare benefits, such as council housing for unmarried teenage mothers and cash payments to support lone parent families, undermines the conventional nuclear family and encourages deviant and dysfunctional family types that harm society

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23
Q

What does Murray argue about the effects welfare benefits?

A

He argues they offer ‘perverse incentives’-they reward irresponsible/anti-social behaviour. Eg if fathers see the state will maintain their children, some will abandon responsibilities towards their families. Providing council housing for unmarried teenage mothers encourages young girls to become pregnant. Growth of lone parent families, encouraged by generous benefits, means more boys grow up without a male role model and authority figure - this lack of paternal authority is responsible for rising crime rate among young males

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24
Q

For the New Right, how do current social policies on family, then impact society?

A

Current policies are encouraging a dependency culture, where individuals come to depend on the state to support them and their children rather than being self reliant. This threatens two essential functions that the family fulfils for society: the successful socialisation of the young, and the maintenance of the work ethic among men

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25
Q

What is the New Right’s solution to these problems caused by social policy?

A

They argue that the policy must be changed, with cuts in welfare spending and tighter restrictions on who is eligible for benefits

26
Q

What do the New Right argue would be the advantages of their solution?

A

There would be several advantages, for example, cutting welfare benefits would mean taxes could also be reduced, and both these changes would give fathers more incentive to work and to provide for their families. Similarly, denying council housing to unmarried teenage mothers would remove a major incentive to become pregnant when very young

27
Q

What else do the New Right advocate for?

A

Policies to support the traditional nuclear family, such as taxes that favour married rather than cohabiting couples, and making absent fathers financially responsible for their children

28
Q

How does the functionalist view differ from the New Right view?

A

Whereas functionalists take the view that state welfare policies can benefit the family and make it better able to met its members’ needs, the New Right disagree. In their view, the less the state ‘interferes’ in families, the better family life will be. Greater self-reliance, and not reliance on the state, is what will enable the family to meet its members’ needs more effectively

29
Q

How has the New Right view of policy been criticised?

A

Feminists argue it’s an attempt to justify a return to traditional patriarchal nuclear family that subordinated women to men, confining them to domestic role. Wrongly assumes the patriarchal nuclear family is ‘natural’ rather than socially constructed. Abbott and Wallace argue that cutting benefits would simply drive many poor families into even greater poverty and make them even less self-reliant. New Right ignore many policies that support and maintain the conventional nuclear family rather than undermine it

30
Q

How has the New Right influenced policies?

A

It is a conservative view of the family that first developed in the 1970s. Therefore we might expect it to have had strong influence on the Conservative Party’s policies towards the family. However, conservative policies since the 1970s show a more mixed picture

31
Q

How did the conservative government 1979-97 reflect New Right views?

A

Thatcher’s conservative government banned promotion of homosexuality by local authorities-including ban on teaching that it was an acceptable family relationship. Conservatives also defined divorce as a social problem and emphasised continued responsibility of parents for their children after divorce-set up Child Support Agency to enforce maintenance payments by absent parents

32
Q

How did the conservative government 1979-97 go against New Right views?

A

Conservatives introduced measures opposed by the New Right, such as making divorce easier and giving ‘illegitimate’ children (those born outside marriage) the same rights as those born to married parents

33
Q

How did the New Labour Governments 1997-2010 reflect New Right views?

A

New Labour took view that the family is the bedrock of society and saw a family headed by a married, heterosexual couple as the best environment for bringing up children. Also they emphasised the need for parents to take responsibility for their children, eg introducing parenting orders for parents of truants and young offenders

34
Q

How did the New Labour Governments 1997-2010 go against New Right views?

A

As Silva and Smart note, New Labour rejected the New Right view that the family should have just one (male) earner and recognised that women too now go out to work. New Labour policies favoured the kind of dual-earner neo-conventional family described by Chester

35
Q

What are examples of the New Labour Governments policies that go against New Right views?

A

Longer maternity leave, three months’ unpaid leave for both parents and right to seek time off work for family reasons, making it easier for both parents to work. Working Families Tax Credit enabling parents to claim some tax relief on childcare costs. The New Deal helping lone parents to return to work

36
Q

What is the main difference between the New Labour Governments policies and the New Right’s views?

A

These policies reflect a further difference with the New Right, who oppose state intervention. New Labour argued instead that certain kinds of state intervention can improve life for families, eg welfare, taxation and minimum wage policies were partly aimed at lifting children out of poverty by re-distributing income to the poor through higher benefits, whereas the New Right disapprove of re-distributing income through taxes and benefits

37
Q

What are other differences between the New Labour Government policies and the New Right’s views?

A

A final area of difference with the New Right was in New Labour’s support for alternatives to the conventional heterosexual nuclear family. This included policies such as; civil partnerships for same-sex couples. Giving unmarried couples the same rights to adopt as married couples. Outlawing discrimination on grounds of sexuality

38
Q

What does Hayton argue about the coalition government 2010-15?

A

The conservatives have long been divided between modernisers (who recognise that families are now more diverse and are willing to reflect this in their policies) and traditionalists (who favour a New Right view and reject diversity as morally wrong)

39
Q

What does the division of conservatives discussed by Hayton mean?

A

This division means that the conservative party has found it difficult to maintain a consistent policy line on the family. Eg the conservative led coalition government introduced gay marriage-a policy opposed by New Right traditionalists. The influence of traditionalists was also weakened by the fact that the conservatives had to share power in a coalition with the liberal democrats

40
Q

What do critics argue about the coalition government 2010-15?

A

Critics argue the coalition government’s financial austerity policies reflected the New Right’s desire to cut public spending. However, the coalition failed to introduce policies that specifically promote the New Right ideal of a conventional heterosexual nuclear family, eg Browne found that two parent families with children fared particularly badly as a result of the coalition’s tax and benefits policies

41
Q

What sort of view do feminists have on society, family and social policies?

A

They take a conflict view. They see society as patriarchal, benefiting men and women’s expense. They argue all social institutions, including the state and its policies, help to maintain women’s subordinate position and the unequal gender division of labour in the family

42
Q

What are policies often based on?

A

Assumptions about what the ‘normal’ family is like

43
Q

What do feminists such as Land argue about social policy?

A

Argue that many social policies assume that the ideal family is the patriarchal nuclear family with a male provider and female homemaker plus their dependent children

44
Q

Why do feminists argue social policy leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy?

A

This norm of what the family should be like affects the kinds of policies governing family life. In turn, the effect of the policies is often to reinforce that particular type of family at the expense of other types, creating a self fulfilling prophecy. Eg if state assumes normal families are based on marriage and offers tax incentives to married couples that aren’t available for cohabiting families, this policy may encourage marriage and discourage cohabitation - in effect the policy makes it harder to live in other family types than the one the policymakers assume they live in

45
Q

What policies do feminists identify that help to maintain the conventional patriarchal nuclear family and reinforce women’s economic dependence?

A

Tax and benefits policies, childcare and care for the sick and elderly

46
Q

What do feminists say about tax and benefits policies?

A

May assume husbands are the main wage-earners and that wives are their financial dependants. This can make it impossible for wives to claim social security benefits in their own right, since it is expected that their husbands will provide. This then reinforces women’s dependence on their husbands

47
Q

What do feminists argue about childcare?

A

While the government pays for some childcare for pre-school children, this is not enough to permit parents to work full time unless they can meet the additional costs themselves. Likewise, policies governing school timetables and holidays make it hard for parents to work full time unless they can afford extra childcare. This means that women are restricted from working and placed in a position of economic dependence on their partners

48
Q

What do feminists argue about care for the sick and elderly?

A

Government policies often assume that the family will provide this care. In general, this means it is middle aged women who are expected to do the caring. In turn, this often prevents them from working full time, increasing their economic dependence on their partners

49
Q

What does Leonard argue?

A

Even where policies appear to support women, they may still reinforce the patriarchal family and act as a form of social control over women. Eg, although maternity leave policies benefit women, they also reinforce patriarchy in the family. Maternity leave entitlement is much more generous than for paternity leave, encouraging assumption that care of infants is responsibility of mothers rather than fathers. Maternity benefits are still low though, increasing economic dependence on their partners

50
Q

What do feminists also argue about child benefits?

A

They are normally paid to the mother. Although this gives her a source of income that does not depend on the father, it also assumes that the child’s welfare is primarily her responsibility

51
Q

Overall, what do feminists believe about social policies?

A

Examples such as childcare, care for the elderly and tax and benefits policies, show the importance of social policies in the social construction of family roles and relationships. By making it easier for women to responsibility for the care of infants or by assuming that men are the main economic providers, social policies help to create and maintain the patriarchal roles and relationships that they assume to be the norm

52
Q

What is the evaluation of the feminist view?

A

Not all policies are directed at maintaining patriarchy. Eg equal pay and sex discrimination laws, the rights of lesbians to marry, benefits for lone parents, refuges for women escaping domestic violence and equal rights to divorce could all be said to challenge the patriarchal family. Similarly, rape within marriage was made a criminal offence in 1991. These policies can all be said to improve the position of women in the family and wider society

53
Q

How can we test feminist claims that social policy reinforces the patriarchal family?

A

By examining policy from a comparative perspective across different societies, we can see whether this is inevitable, or whether different policies can encourage more equal family relationships. Eg a country’s policies on taxation, childcare, welfare services and equal opportunities will all affect whether women can work full time, or whether they have to forgo paid work to care for children or elderly relatives

54
Q

What does Drew talk about?

A

She uses the concept of ‘gender regimes’ to describe how social policies in different countries can either encourage or discourage gender equality in the family and at work. The two she identifies are familistic gender regimes and individualistic gender regimes

55
Q

What are familistic gender regimes?

A

Where policies are based on a traditional gender division between male breadwinner and female housewife and carer

56
Q

What is an example of familistic gender regimes?

A

In Greece, for example, there is little state welfare or publicly funded childcare. Women have to rely heavily on support from their extended kin and there is a traditional division of labour

57
Q

What are individualistic gender regimes?

A

Where policies are based on the belief that husbands and wives should be treated the same. Wives are not assumed to be financially dependent on their husbands, so each partner has a separate entitlement to state benefits

58
Q

What is an example of individualistic gender regimes?

A

In Sweden, for example, policies treat husbands and wives as equally responsible both for breadwinning and domestic tasks. Equal opportunities policies, state provision of childcare, parental leave and good quality welfare services mean that women are less dependant on their husbands and have more opportunities to work

59
Q

What gender regime does Drew say is most often found?

A

Most European Union countries are now moving towards more individualistic gender regimes. This is likely to bring a move away from the traditional patriarchal family and towards greater gender equality in family roles and relationships

60
Q

What is a problem however with individualistic gender regimes?

A

Policies such as publicly funded childcare do not come cheap, and they involve major conflicts about who should benefit from social policies and who should pay for them. It would therefore be naive to assume that there is an inevitable “march of progress “ towards gender equality

61
Q

What is an example of the difficulty to fund individualistic gender regime policies?

A

Feminists argue that since the global recession began in 2008, cutbacks in government spending throughout Europe have led pressure on women to take more responsibility for payment for family members as the state retreat from providing welfare-during this period, there has also been a trend towards neo-liberal welfare policies, in which individuals and families are encouraged to use the market rather than the state to meet their needs, for example through private pension provision and private care of the old

62
Q

What do differences between European countries show?

A

That social policies can play an important role in promoting or preventing gender equality in the family