Topic 3 (relationship of the fam to the social structure + social change, particular reference to economy + to state policies)

Question 1

What are social policies?

Answer 1

Social policy refers to the plans and actions of state agencies such as: health and social services; welfare benefits system; schools; other public bodies.
Policies are usually based on laws introduced by government that provide the framework within which these agencies operate. For example, laws lay down who is entitled to each specific welfare benefit.
Most social policies impact families in some way or other. Some are aimed directly at families, such as laws governing marriage and divorce, abortion and contraception, child protection, adoption.

Question 2

Family policies in Russia

Answer 2

After the Russian Revolution of 1917, the government wanted to destroy the old patriarchal family structure as regarded it as an obstacle to creation of a socialist society based on equality.
However, new soviet state experienced many problems including civil war, famine and threat of war with Nazi Germany . The need to industrialise rapidly and prepare for war meant a change of policy. Divorce laws were tightened, abortion made illegal + parents were encouraged to have more children and rewarded with bigger family allowances. The state and media glorified parenthood and highly fertile women were given the title of ‘Hero Mother of the Soviet Union’.

Question 3

Family social policies in China

Answer 3

Gov introduced ‘one child policy’ to discourage pop growth. The policy was supervised by workplace family planning committees; women had to seek permission to try become pregnant - often waiting list and quota for each factory. couples who complied with policy got extra benefits - eg. free child healthcare and higher tax allowances , only children also gained priority in education and housing later in life. couples who broke the agreement to have one child had to repay their allowances and pay a fine. women faced pressure to undergo sterilisation after their first child .
However, from 2016, couples could request a permit for two children.

Question 4

Family policies in Romania

Answer 4

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.

Question 5

Family policies in Nazi Germany

Answer 5

1930s - gov introduced twofold policy. encouraged the healthy and supposedly ‘racially pure’ to breed a ‘master race’ by restricting abortion and contraception. official policy sought to keep women out of the workforce and confine the to ‘children, kitchen and church’ - the better to perform their biological role.

However , the state compulsory sterilised 375,000 disabled people that it deemed unfit to bread on the ground of ‘physical malformation, mental retardation, epilepsy, imbecility, deafness or blindness’. Many of these people were later murdered in Nazi concentration camps.

Question 6

What are key features of the ideal family from New right viewpoint?

Answer 6

it is:

· The building block of society

· Based on a heterosexual marriage

· Essential that there are two parents to create social order and discipline

· Important that roles and functions should be clearly defined

stability is achieved only through the conventional nuclear family

Question 7

What criticisms does new right theorist Almond (2006) make about social legal changes?

Answer 7

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 same sex marriage 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 (usually male) 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

Question 8

American New Right theorist Murray (1984) on welfare state

Answer 8

Critical of past government policies (pre-1979) believing them to have contributed to the disintegration of the nuclear family. He attacked the welfare state for encouraging ‘deviant lifestyles and family forms’. Eg. he argued that an over generous welfare state encouraged SPF, as they believed welfare benefits acted as and incentive for:
Young women to become pregnant, knowing the state would look after them and their child.
Fathers to abandon their responsibilities as they would see that the state would maintain their children.
Murray argued that this would lead to children growing up without a male role model and authority figure leading to discipline problems.

Question 9

What benefits did the New Right argue cuts in welfare spending and tighter restrictions on who is eligible for benefits would do?

Answer 9

Cutting welfare benefits would mean that taxes could be reduced, this would give fathers more incentive to work and to provide for their families.
Denying council housing to unmarried teenage mothers would remove a major incentive to become young and pregnant.

Question 10

Key conservative policies:

Answer 10

1986 Married Couples Tax Allowance: 1986 Married Couples Tax Allowance: A tax incentive to encourage marriage and discourage cohabitation. Married Couples Tax Allowance lets you transfer an amount of your Personal Allowance to your husband, wife.
1988 Benefits Cuts: Benefits were withdrawn from 16-18 year olds who didn’t take a place on training schemes, forcing families to take responsibility for maintaining unemployed teenagers. Lone parent benefits were cut in an attempt to discourage alternative family structures.

Question 11

Evaluation of New Right policies

Answer 11

Feminists: argue policies were counter to improving gender equality. They argue it is an attempt to justify a return to the traditional nuclear family that subordinated women to men and confined them to a domestic role.
Also criticized for ‘blaming the victim’ , blaming SPF for societal problems. In reality, many single parent families are headed by benefits for their main source of income.
Abbott and Wallace (1992) argue that cutting benefits would simply drive many poor families into even greater poverty and make them even less self-reliant. working parents who don’t rely on benefits for their main source of income.

Question 12

The Government Paper ‘Supporting Families’ (Blair and the New Labour policy - 1997 to 2010) views and intentions to strengthen families and marriage:

Answer 12

Whilst they were not so critical of other lifestyles and less conventional household types as the New Right, they still saw the nuclear family as the most desirable family unit. However, they rejected the New Right view that the family should have just one (male) earner and recognized the increased participation of women in the workplace. Therefore New labour polices favored the dual-earner neo-conventional family described by functionalist Chester.
Rather than regarding LPF as a moral problem , New Labour policies introduced policies that supported them, eg. helping LP w/ childcare so that they could gain qualifications or return to work.

Question 13

Key policies of the new labour government:

Answer 13

Working Families Tax Credit: Designed for low-income families. It allowed parents to claim tax relief against a proportion of their childcare costs to enable parents to work.
The Adoption and Children Act 2002: Came into effect in 2005 and gave single people and unmarried cohabiting couples including same sex couples the same right to adopt as married couples.
The New Deal (1998): this was designed to help and assist single parents to return to work.
Winter Fuel Payments for the elderly: designed to assist with heating costs and reduce health issues.
The Civil Partnership Act 2004: This gave same sex couples the same legal rights as married couples in respect of pensions, inheritance, tenancies and property.

Question 14

Evaluation New Labour policies

Answer 14

Many welcomed New Labour’s range of family friendly policies and some suggested they reflected the large proportion of women in ministerial positions in the government at the time, as well as the fact that, Blair had young children himself.
However, New Right critics argued that New Labour intervened too much in family life, arguing this results in a ‘nanny state’ where individuals rely on the state rather than taking personal responsibility.

Question 15

Coalition government (2010-2015): Liberal Democrats vs New Right

Answer 15

Nick Clegg promoted policies such as the introduction of gay marriage (2013) which provided equal opportunities for gay couples and the increase in paternity benefits which supports the idea that gender roles are becoming more equal and shared, acknowledging the increasing role that fathers play in their children’s lives.
David Cameron continued to promote policies suggesting that he regarded the nuclear family, with traditional gender roles, as desirable and ideal.

Question 16

Key Coalition government policies:

Answer 16

Child Benefit became means tested: what had been a universal benefit for all parents was cut for people earning above a certain threshold.
Troubled Families Programme (2011): Designed to help families who have problems + cause problems to community around them. By working w/ local authorities, aim was to get children back into school, reduce youth crime and anti social behaviour.
The scaling back and cutting of benefits: intended to reduce welfare dependency.
Introduction of gay marriage (2013): which provided equal opportunities for gay couples.
Increase in paternity benefits: Supported idea that gender roles are becoming more equal + shared. Acknowledging increasing role fathers play in their children’s lives.

Question 17

evaluation of coalition government policies

Answer 17

Critics argued that Coalition government’s financial austerity policies reflected New Right’s desire to cut public spending - leading to greater hardship for the poorest groups in society.
Also attack Coalition policies for failing to support alternatives to nuclear family + not reflecting experiences of family life for many people in contemporary society.

Question 18

Functionalists on families and social policy

Answer 18

See state as acting in interests of society as a whole + its social policies as being for the good of all. They see policies as helping families to perform their functions more effectively and make life better for its members.
Fletcher 1966 (Functionalist) on families and social policy: Argues introduction of health, education and housing policies led to development of a welfare state that supports families. It assumes there has been a march of progress with social policies making life better.

Question 19

Evaluation of Functionalist view on families and social policy;

Answer 19

Criticised for assuming: all members of family benefit equally from social policies, whereas feminists argue that policies benefit men at expensive of women.
Marxists argue policies can also regress progress previously made, for example by cutting welfare benefits to poor families.

Question 20

Marxists on Families and social policy:

Answer 20

Don’t see social policies as benefitting all members of society equally. They see the state + it’s policies as serving capitalism. For example, they see low level of state pensions as evidence that once workers are too old to produce profits they’re maintained at lowest possible cost. Don’t accept functionalist ‘march of progress’ view that better welfare policies produce happier families.

Question 21

Feminists on Families and social policy:

Answer 21

Believe that all institutions, including state and its policies help to maintain women’s subordinate position + the unequal division of labour.

Question 22

Evaluation of feminists’ on families and social policy:

Answer 22

Have been criticised as other policies such as equal pay + sex discrimination laws , benefits for LP, refuges for women escaping domestic violence + equal rights to divorce could all be said to challenge the patriarchal family.

Question 23

Drew (1995) on gender regimes

Answer 23

He uses concept of gender regimes to describe how social policies in different countries can either discourage or encourage gender equality in the family and in work.
identifies two types of family policies:
Familistic: policies are based on traditional; gender division. Eg. in Greece there is little state welfare/ publicly funded childcare reflecting a traditional division of labour. Therefore, women have to rely heavily on support from their extended kin rather than social policies.
Individualistic: where policies are based on the belief that husbands and wives should be treated the same. wives are not assumed to be financially dependant on their husbands, so each partner has a separate entitlement to state benefits. Eg. in Sweden policies treat husbands and wife’s 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.
Drew argues that most Eu countries are moving away from the traditional patriarchal family towards individualistic gender regimes which will encourage greater gender equality in family roles + relationships.

Question 24

State vs market on social policies

Answer 24

Policies such as publicly funded childcare don’t come cheap and involve major conflicts about who should benefit from social policies and who should pay for them. Therefore, it would be naïve to assume a ‘march to progress’ towards gender equality is inevitable. Feminists point out that since the global recession that began in 2008, cutbacks in government spending throughout Europe have seen the state retreat from providing welfare and have led to pressure on women to take more responsibility for caring for family members.
Neo- liberal welfare policies, where individuals are encouraged to use the market rather than the state, eg. through private pension provision/ private elderly care, to meet their needs have contributed to this trend.