Social Policy Ideology and Impact

The welfare state State plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens Establishment of the welfare system in Britain in 1948 ‘From the cradle to the grave‘ (Beveridge 1944) Based on the principles of equality of opportunity, distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those unable to avail themselves of the minimal provisions for a good life.

The Welfare State How to finance the welfare state has increasingly become a key political issue Why do you think this?

Social need and Welfare People who chose to have children should not expect other taxpayers to help them with the costs of raising them All taxpayers should contribute something to help with the costs of raising children. Only poor parents should get government help towards the costs of raising their children Parents should take more responsibility for their children? What are your views on these statements?

Social Policy “Social policies aim to improve human welfare (although they often fail to do so) and to meet the needs in education, health, housing and social security.” (Blakemore and Warwick-Booth, 2013 p.1) Reference Blakemore, K. and Warwick-Booth, L. (2013) Social Policy: An Introduction (4 th Ed.) Maidenhead: Open University Press

‘Troubled Families’ troubled-families-turn-their-lives-around troubled-families-turn-their-lives-around Are troubled families responsible for society’s ills? Are troubled families responsible for society’s ills? Can you think of any policies that have been introduced as part of this agenda?

Bedroom tax - g-lie-behind-the-bedroom-tax-families-trapped- with-nowhere-to-move-face-penalty-for-having- spare-room html g-lie-behind-the-bedroom-tax-families-trapped- with-nowhere-to-move-face-penalty-for-having- spare-room html Back to work

Political ideology and social policy Possessive Individualism – notion of individual rights Democratic socialist – emphasises collective transformation Conservatism – status based social order (Byrne 2005)

Sociological Perspectives The inter-relationship between structure and agency Social structures such as class, culture, gender, ethnic origin Changes in socio-spatial organisation of urban life Individualisation - The notion that an individual has the “compulsion to lead a life of one’s own” (Beck and Gernsheim 2002 p.23)

Bourdieu 1997 Bourdieu’s (1986; 1987) model of capitals – economic, social and cultural as the mechanisms by which people are distributed in social space Bourdieu refers to the partially unconscious ‘taking in’ of rules, values and dispositions as ‘habitus.’ It captures the relationship between an individual’s dispositions and their engagement with learning opportunities and subsequent progression and employment

Bourdieu and Wacquant, (1992 p.127) say “…when habitus encounters a social world of which it is the product, it is like a ‘fish in water’: it does not feel the weight of the water and it takes the world about itself for granted.” However, when habitus encounters a field with which it is not familiar with, an individual will show their unsuitability in a different social field, such as in employment or education

Individualisation Beck and Gernsheim (2002 p.22-23) argues “we live in a society in which the social order of the national state, class, ethnicity and the traditional family is in decline…the choosing, deciding, shaping human being who aspires to be the author of his or her own life, the creator of an individual identity is the character of our time” It makes individual people responsible for situations for which they are sometimes not well prepared, or that are beyond their ability to influence. – feelings of powerlessness

Implications? How does this differing ideology link to the development of Social Policy? eople/families/b /parenting-classes-trial eople/families/b /parenting-classes-trial Can you find the links in this policy statement?