Sociology + social policy

• Giddens (positive view) :

  • 4 practical benefits of studying sociology -
  • Understanding social situations
  • Awareness of cultural differences
  • Assessment of the effect of policies
  • Increase in self knowledge
  • These can help understand the relationship between sociology + social policy
• Understanding social situations :

  Example = poverty

  • Welfare state introduced
  • Townsend - Poverty remained + became a hidden problem
  • to understand poverty it must be considered in terms of what people expected to have not in terms of complete destitution
  • This allowed a new insight into poverty in advanced affluent societies
  • This research led indirectly to policies : minimum wage and tax credits
• Awareness of cultural difference :

  • Giddens believed people needed to look beyond the boundaries of a particular group
  • Giddens felt a lack of awareness could lead to prejudice + discrimination.
  • Eg - race, led to race equality legislation 1976
  • Consistent decline in expressed racism
  • Growth in understanding of different cultures
  • Sociologists increasingly highlight the positive contribution of ethnic minority groups rather than the problems
  • Stereotypes from ‘white’ people less likely
• Assessment of the effects of policies :

  • Once there is recognition that a social problem exists policies can be developed to combat them
  • Governments do require evidence that a policy is working + sociology used to do this
  • Eg- cost-benefit analysis of healthcare conducted by University of York
• Increase in self knowledge :

  • clearly showed the discrimination + the results empowered the groups
  • allowing them to demand action
  • Now a wide range of discrimination laws
  • Eg – Gay marriage, civil partnership
• Bauman (post modernist) it can't :

  • Feel it is impossible to find objective truth
  • Research produced = uncertain so don't provide a satisfactory basis for policy making
  • Sociologists are only interpreters offering a view + so shouldn't be legislators
• Marxism (it doesn't) :

  • Social policies serve capitalism
  • The Welfare State presents a ‘human face’
  • Aim = exploit the labour force e.g. the NHS keeps workers fit for work
  • Welfare state prevents revolution (buys people off)
  • Feel sociologists should reveal the exploitation + how social policy masks this
• Feminism (it doesn't) :

  • Sees society as patriarchal + that the state perpetuates women’s subordination
  • Research by liberal feminists had an impact on policy e.g. anti discrimination laws and equal pay policies
  • Research by radical feminists had an impact e.g. the establishing of women’s refuges for women escaping domestic violence
• New right (it shouldn't) :

  • Murray - argues that welfare benefits + council housing for lone parents acts as a ‘perverse incentive’ that encourages a dependency culture
  • role of the sociologists as being to propose policy that promotes individual responsibility and choice
  • Feel state intervention undermines people’s sense of responsibility leading to greater social problems