rm-1.8 sociology and social policy

    Cards (10)

    • feminist perspective
      • Feminists see society as being based on conflict.
      • Society is based on patriarchy benefiting men at women’s expense. 
      • They argue that the state perpetuates female subordination through social policies. 
    • example
      • For example, the state bases its policies on the nuclear family so it offers benefits to married couples.
      • This forces women into often exploitative family structures and segregated conjugal roles. 
    • marxist perspective
      • They see society as divided by a conflict of interest in which the ruling capitalist class exploits the labour of the working class. 
      • The state represents the ruling class and its social policies serve the interests of capitalism.
      • The state represents the ruling class and they use ideological law-making and selective law enforcement to further oppress the proletariat.
    • the 'caring face' of capitalism
      • They argue that social policy offers create a ’caring face’ of capitalism.
      • This means that policies fool the poor into thinking that the state cares about them when in actual fact policies offer a distraction from the exploitation that exists in society.
    • example
      • For example, the introduction of the minimum wage helps to mask their exploitation by making it appear that the capitalist system cares about the poor.
      • This is a way of preventing revolution when class conflict threatens capitalism.
    • functionalists view
      • Functionalists see society as being based on value consensus which is free from conflict.
      • Durkheim believed that through scientific research we could discover both the problems and solutions to society’s social ills. 
      • Therefore sociology's role is to provide the state with objective scientific information that they can use to base their policies on.
    • piecemeal social engineering
      • They see the state as serving the interests of society as a whole and policies help society run more smoothly and efficiently.
      • Functionalists take a cautious approach, they tend to look at one issue at a time, this is called ‘piecemeal social engineering’.  
    • the new right's perspective
      • They believe the state should have minimal involvement in society. 
      • They are opposed to state involvement in the family, income support, education, and healthcare. 
      • They feel that this takes away people’s choices and their feeling of personal responsibility. 
    • the welfare state
      • Charles Murray argues that the welfare state gives ‘perverse incentives’ that weaken self-reliance and encourages a dependency culture.     
      • They want sociologists to come up with alternative policies to the existing ones. 
    • new policy
      • They want these new policies to restore the responsibility that the welfare state has taken away from individuals. 
      • They want individuals to take responsibility for their own and their family's welfare rather than leaving it to the state.  
    See similar decks