Topic 7 - Family Policy

Donzelot (1977) - new right perspective

Policing the Family

Policy is a means that the government uses to put families under control and surveillance

Professionals exercise their power over clients by using their knowledge

You are more likely to be watched if you are from a lower social class

Condry (2007) - new right perspective

Policing the Family

Courts regulate family life by imposing parenting orders, as parents of truants get punished and forced to attend parenting classes to learn how to be a ‘good parent’

Almond (2006) - new right perspective

Policies that threaten the nuclear family include:

• Divorce laws which undermine marriage

• Civil partnerships undermine heterosexual domestic setups

• Tax laws mean that male breadwinner families pay more in tax than dual earners (each of whom has a tax allowance)

• Increased rights for cohabiting couples (e.g. adoption)

Murray (1984) - new right perspective

The government provides many perverse incentives, including:

• Council housing for unmarried teenage mothers, which encourages girls to get pregnant

• If fathers see that the state will maintain their children, they may abandon parental responsibility

Child Support Agency (1973) - new right perspective

Conservative Government (1979-1997)

Reflects a New Right View

Enforced maintenance payments by absent parents

Children’s Act (1989) - new right perspective

Conservative Government (1979-1997)

Reflects a New Right View

Made the welfare of the child the fundamental principle underpinning the work of agencies such as social services

Abbott and Wallace (2005) - new right perspective

Criticism

Cutting benefits would simply drive many poor families into even greater poverty and make them less self-reliant

Drew (1995) - feminist perspective

Gender Regimes

Social policies can either encourage or discourage gender equality in the family and at work; there are two types of regimes:

1. Familistic (traditional gendered division of labour)

2. Individualistic (policies based on gender equality; each person has a separate state benefit)

Most EU countries are moving towards more individualistic gender regimes, so a shift towards greater gender equality in family roles and relationships