Social policies

• China's One Child Policy


  Supervised by workplace family planing comittees - women had to seek permission to become pregnant
• Punishment for not complying to chinas one child policy


  Fined

  Pressure to be sterilised
• Benefits for those who comply to chinas one child policy


  Free child healthcare

  Tax allowance
• Democratic societies


  family is a private sphere of life - the government does not intervene
• Nazi family policy


  Nazi germany encouraged a 'racially pure' master race to breed
• How was Nazi family policy enforced


  Women kept out of work - confined to children, kitchen, church

  Sterilised disabled people who were deemed 'unfit to breed
• Communist Romania


  Policies to increase birth rate
• How did communist Romania enforce their policy to increase birth rate

  Restricted contraception and abortion

  Higher taxes on childless couples
• 3 policies that are not directly aimed at families but effect them

  Compulsory schooling

  Care in the community

  Taxation policies
• How does compulsory schooling affect the family?

  Parents can work while school offers a free child minding service
• How does care in the community affect the family


  Family cares for older generations rather than nursing homes or hospitals
• How do taxation policies affect the family

  Affect how much money is taken from families
• Functionalists and social policy


  Social policies help families preform their functions more effectively, making life better for its members
• Fletcher (functionalist)


  Welfare state developed since industrial revolution to support the family in performing its function more effectively
• Example of fletchers welfare state


  NHS - family can take better care of it's sick members
• Criticism 1 of functionalists

  Not all members of the family benefit equally

  Feminists - policies benefit men while oppressing women
• Criticism 2 of functionalists

  Assumes there is a March of progress

  Marxists - policies can reverse progress eg cutting welfare benefits on poorer families
• Donzelot's conflict view


  Policies are a form of state power used to control families
• How does Donzelot develop Foucault's ideas


  Develops Foucault's idea of surveillance used to exert power eg social workers, doctors, health visitors
• Poorer families more likely to be controlled as seen as problem families

  Condry - parenting offers issue to parents of young offenders
• Criticism 1 of Donzelot

  Marxists - policies benefit capitalist society
• Criticism 2 of Donzelot

  Feminists - policies benefit men while oppressing women
• Why do the new right strongly favour traditional nuclear family

  It is naturally self reliant
• Murray


  Government policies act as perverse incentives which undermine the family and create a dependency culture
• Solution to dependency culture

  Abolish welfare benefits
• Almond (Nr)


  State police have created family diversity which is threatening the conventional family
• 3 ways the conventional family is under threat according to Almond

  Making divorce easier

  Civil partnerships for homosexual couples

  Tax laws discriminate against conventional family with breadwinner
• Criticism 1 of New right

  Feminists - want to return to traditional patriarchal family
• Criticism 2 of new right

  Assumes nuclear family is natural, not socially constructed
• Criticism 3 of new right

  Wallace and Abbot

  Cutting benefits would drive more people into poverty
• Conservative government 1979-97 policies

  for new right: Banned promotion of homosexuality

  Child support agency - holding absent parents accountable
• Conservative government 1979-97 policies

  against new right: Making divorce easier
• New labour government 1997-2010 policies

  for new right: Parenting orders for parents of young offenders
• Conservative government 1979-97 policies


  against new right: Working families tax credit - claim tax relief on childcare costs allowing both parents to work

  Civil partnership for same sex couples - supporting alternative to heterosexual nuclear family
• 2 divisions in conservative led government 2010 according to Hayton


  Modernisers

  Traditionalists
• Modernisers


  Recognise families are more diverse which are reflected in policies
• Traditionalists


  Favour new right, reject family diversity
• Issue with having division in government


  Hard to maintain consistent policy line
• Conservative led government 2010 policies

  for new right: Financial austerity policies
• How do financial austerity policies favour new right

  Reflect new right desire to cut welfare spending