social policy

• "an attempt by government to deal with a social problem... or to ensure social needs, such as jobs, benefits and a happy family life, are achieved."
• Social policies aim to change, regulate and improve social conditions, and prevent social problems.
• social policies are usually enforced by parliament, making them law.
• Families are a key institution and there are many social policies dedicated to protecting families and improving their quality of life.
• Different countries around the world have different social policies/laws to deal with their own social problems.

  • China's one child policies.
  • Nazi Germany family policies.
  • Romania under communism in the 1980s attempted to increase the birth rate by:
  • Restricting access to abortions and contraception.
  • Discouraged divorce and made access to divorce more difficult.
  • lowered the legal age for marriage to 15.
• social policies fall in to two categories:

  1. Direct policies
  2. Indirect policies
• Direct policies

  • These policies are directly aimed at the family and family life, and have a direct effect on household structures.
• Indirect policies

  • These policies aimed at social and economic issues, but will also affect the family and household structures.
• Direct policies

  • Divorce Reform act 1969- Family Planning Act 1967
  • Civil partnership Act 2004- Same sex couples act 2014
  • The adoption and children act 2002
  • The Child Benefits Act 1975- sexual offences Act 1967
  • The Abortion Act 1967
• Indirect Policies

  • Equality Act 2010
  • Sex Discrimination Act 1975
  • The NHS and the welfare state
  • The education act 1996
  • Equal pay Act 1970
• Divorce Reform Act 1969

  • Directly linked to the breakup of the nuclear and symmetrical family and the rise of lone-parent and reconstituted families.
  • Additionally, the welfare state means parents are likely to get increased financial support from the state.
• Family Planning Act 1967 and The Abortion Act 1967

  • Available contraception and abortion means couples can delay having children.
  • likely to lead to increased cohabitation.
• Equality Act 2010, Equal Pay Act 1970 and Sex Discrimination Act 1975

  • All these social policies have led to equality for women in the workplace.
  • This could suggest women are more career driven in modern society and delay marriage and children which has a direct impact on family structure and family life.
  • Women are out of the home more- could this be leading to an equal division of labour in the home?
• Same sex couples Act 2014 and sexual offences Act 1967

  • Decriminalising homosexuality and legalising same-sex marriage has improved equality in society for the LGBTQ+ community.
  • This has led to a diversity of family types and change to traditional family structures.
• The Education Act 1996

  • Guarantees all children the right to an education.
  • Allows the state to be a free childminder for children.
  • Women now have more time and more equality at work and are career driven.
• How do social policies affect families, are they good or bad?

  1. functionalism? Good.
  2. The New Right? Bad.
  3. Feminism? Bad.
  4. Marxism? Bad.
• Functionalism and social policy

  • Fletcher(1966)
  • Social policies provide consensus and social order by allowing all institutions, including families, to perform their functions more effectively.
  • Family is no exception; policies have gradually improved family life over time.
• Functionalism and social policy

  • Fletcher (1966)
  • The NHS provides healthcare, improving the health of all society's members.
  • The education system ensures knowledge, culture, norms and values are transmitted from one generation to the next.
  • Social housing policies enable families to be provided with, or save money to buy, a stable home.
• Marxism and Social Policy

  • The State is part of the superstructure; social policies are a way for the bourgeoisie to promote their ideology, and maintain social control.
• Marxism and Social Policy

  • Policies such as the NHS and the welfare state ensure the working class is kept fit and healthy.
  • This ensures they are able to exchange their labour for a wage, generating profits for capitalism.
• Marxism and social policy

  • The education system transmits knowledge and skills for work, and socialises individuals in to behaviour such as discipline and obedience.
  • This ensures they are educated enough and compliant enough to be both work and be exploited under capitalism.
• Marxism and social policy

  • Social policies create the appearance the state cares for the working class, reducing the chances of the working class consciousness and starting a revolution.
  • Social policies provide ideological legitimisation to mask capitalist exploitation.
• The New Right and Social Policy

  • Murray (1984)
  • Social policies lead to a culture of dependency and reward anti-social behaviour-'perverse incentives'
  • An 'underclass' is created which commit crimes and take advantage of the benefits system.
  • Increased personal responsibility and the reduced intervention of the welfare state is the solution.
• The New right and Social Policy

  • Murray(1984)
  • The traditional nuclear family is the best type of the family.
  • A married couple with a clear, sex-based division of labour is the best type of family for providing its functions.
  • This especially applies to the socialisation of children.
• The New right and Social Policy

  • Social Policies have led to greater family diversity.
  • Increased divorce and lone-parent families.
  • same-sex marriage
  • council housing.
  • These policies directly threaten the nuclear family and are responsible for producing social problems.
• The New Right and Social Policy

  Murray (1984)

  • Fathers see the state will maintain their children, and so they abandon them.
  • This lack of paternal leads to increased deviance and crime among boys.
  • Same sex marriage is not a nuclear family; it will lead to improper socialisation of children.
  • Providing council houses encourage teenage girls to get pregnant and in an attempt to receive housing.
• What is the New Right solution to these social problems?

  • Reduced state intervention.
  • State policies have undermined the nuclear family and have allowed the culture of welfare dependency, among other social problems, to grow.
  • Removing social policies which encourage this, and encouraging personal responsibility among individuals and families, will reduce the culture of welfare dependency.
• Feminism and Social Policy

  • Society is patriarchal; all social institutions, including the state and its policies, act as a form of social control to maintain women's subordination.
  • Social policies are designed to maintain an unequal division of labour within families.
• Policies feminists identify as patriarchal include:

  • Maternity and Paternity
  • More maternity compared to paternity reinforces the idea that women are the primary caregivers to children, and men are earners and providers.
• Policies feminists identify as patriarchal include:

  • childcare
  • The state pays for some childcare; up to 30 hours per week for free, but families are required to fund additional childcare costs themselves.
  • Childcare is expensive; the approximate cost of fulltime childcare in the UK is £250 per week.
  • Working full-time is inflexible and incompatible with parenthood, and if additional childcare costs cannot be met, one parent, usually the mother, will stay home and provide childcare.
• Policies feminists identify as patriarchal include:

  • Care for the Sick and Elderly
  • The state pays for some childcare; Carer's Allowance is paid at £81.90 per week for 35 hours of care provided, but families are required to fund additional care costs themselves.
  • Working full-time is inflexible and incompatible with providing full-time care, and if additional care costs cannot be met, one partner, typically middle-aged women, will stay home and provide care.
• Who is the author of the work titled "Feminism and Social Policy"?

  Land
• Feminism and Social Policy

  • Social policies construct and reinforce the 'ideal' family.
  • Social policies are created with an assumption of how the 'normal' family looks and behaves.
  • Social Policies promote this particular 'ideal' type of family over other types, which then reinforces the idea that it is 'normal' type.
• Feminism and Social Policy

  • Land (1978)
  • Tax reductions for married couples is an incentive for individuals to get married; it reinforces the 'ideal' nuclear family.
  • It becomes difficult for individuals to live in other family types because policies are designed to support the 'ideal' nuclear family.
  • A self-fulfilling prophecy.
• Feminism and Social Policy

  • A country's policies on welfare, taxation, childcare, and equal opportunities all affect whether women are able to work full-time, part-time, or provide full-time care.
  • These are not fixed in time or space: these policies have been created over time, and vary by country.
  • By comparing one country, such as the UK, to another, policies can be examined to determine which encourages a fairer and more equal family relationship and division of labour.
• Feminism and Social Policy

  • Drew (1995)
  • 'gender regimes'- a way to describe how social policies in different countries can either encourage or discourage gender equality in the family and at work:
  • Familistic gender regimes.
  • Individualistic gender regimes.
• Familistic gender regimes

  • Policies are based on the 'nuclear family' and the traditional gender division of labour; little state welfare or publicly funded childcare.
• Individualistic gender regimes

  • Policies based on the idea of men and women as individuals; women are financially independent, and the state provides welfare and childcare benefits.
• Feminism and Social Policy

  Drew (1995)

  • Most European Union countries are moving towards individualistic gender regimes.
  • This will lead to greater gender equality in family roles and relationships, and a move away from traditional patriarchal family structures.
  • This is a criticism of the feminist argument- there is a trend towards equality and away from patriarchy.
  • It supports the feminist argument, however, as it demonstrates social policies are social constructions and society can change.
• Political Parties and Social Policy

  • Donzelot (1977) - 'Policing the Family'
  • State policies are a form of state control over families.
  • Argued social workers, doctors, and other healthcare professionals use their power and knowledge to 'police families'.
  • Not all families are policed equally- poor families are more likely to be targeted as 'problem families' who can be 'improved'.