Topic 10 - Sociology and Social Policy

• Social policy


  Tackling social problems, e.g. the welfare of the population
• Marshall's definition of social policy


  The actions of the government that have a direct impact on the lives of citizens by providing them with services such as education, health and social security
• Sociologists have an interest in social problems and finding ways to solve them
• Much Sociological research is aimed at producing social policy proposals for the government to act upon
• Social problem


  A piece of social behaviour that causes public concern and/or private misery and calls for collective action to solve it
• Social problems


  • Poverty
  • Educational underachievement
  • Juvenile delinquency
• Sociological problem


  Any behaviour that calls for an explanation, it can include behaviour that the rest of society regards it as a problem, e.g. crime, but it can also include behaviour that is not normally regarded as a problem, e.g. why are some people law-abiding
• The two (social problems and sociological problems) overlap, but a sociological problem can also include behaviour that society doesn't normally regard as a problem
• Many sociologists are interested in solving social problems through their research
• Some sociologists are employed by government departments such as the Home Office or the Department of Education, often having a direct input into policy-making
• Even when sociologists conduct research into social problems, there is no guarantee that government policy-makers will act on their findings
• Factors affecting whether policy-makers use sociologists' research findings


  • Electoral popularity
  • How far the researcher's value-stance matches the government's political ideology
  • The cost of implementing proposals
  • Support or opposition from interest groups
  • The possibility that critical sociology (e.g. Marxism) may be regarded as too extreme
• Positivism


  Early positivists saw sociology as a science that would both discover the cause of social problems and provide their solutions. Science and reason could be used to improve society.
• Functionalism


  Functionalists see society as based on value consensus, so the state serves the interests of society as a whole, implementing rational social policies for the good of all.
• Positivists' and functionalists' view of the sociologist's role


  To provide the state with objective, scientific information on which it can base its policies
• Functionalists' view of social policy


  Favours 'piecemeal social engineering' - cautious, bit-by-bit change rather than wholesale, radical change
• Social democratic perspective on social policy


  Favours a major redistribution of wealth and income from the rich to the poor. Sociologists should be involved in researching social problems and making policy recommendations to eradicate them.
• Postmodernist view


  It is impossible to discover objective truth. All knowledge produced by research is uncertain, and so sociological findings cannot provide a satisfactory basis for policy-making. Sociologists can only take the role of 'interpreters', offering one view of reality among many, and not the role of 'legislators' (law-makers).
• Marxist view of social policy


  Social policies serve the interests of capitalism, not those of society as a whole. Social policies provide ideological legitimation for capitalism; maintain the labour force for further exploitation; and are a means of preventing revolution.
• Marxist view of the sociologist's role


  To reveal the exploitation that underpins capitalism and the way in which the ruling class use social policies to mask this.
• Feminist view of society


  Society is patriarchal, benefiting men at women's expense. The state's social policies perpetuate women's subordination.
• Research by liberal feminists has had an impact in a number of policy areas, e.g. anti-discrimination and equal pay policies
• Some radical feminist ideas have also had an influence on social policy, e.g. the establishment of women's refuges for women escaping domestic violence
• Marxist and radical feminist view

  Reformist social policies cannot liberate women, more radical changes are needed that the existing state cannot deliver
• New Right view of the state's role


  The state should have only limited involvement in society; e.g. state welfare provision should be minimal
• New Right view of state intervention

  It undermines people's sense of responsibility, leading to greater social problems
• Murray's view of certain policies


  Policies such as universal welfare benefits and council housing for lone parents act as 'perverse incentives' that encourage a dependency culture
• New Right view of the sociologist's role

  To propose policies that promote individual responsibility and choice
• The New Right supports a strong 'law and order' policy and research by right realist criminologists, e.g. Broken Windows, has been influential in the introduction of zero tolerance policies