Functionalist perspective on Social Policy

• How do FUNCTIONALISTS see SOCIETY?

  • Functionalists see society as built on harmony and consensus (shared values) and free from major conflicts.

• How do FUNCTIONALISTS VIEW THE ROLE OF POLICIES IN RELATION TO THE FAMILY?

  • Functionalists see policies as helping families to perform their functions more efficiently and effectively.

• What are TWO CRITICISMS OF THE FUNCTIONALIST VIEW ON SOCIAL POLICY?

  • One criticism of the functionalist view on social policy is that it assumes that all members of the family benefit equally from social policy, whereas, feminists would argue that social policies benefit men at the expense of women.

  • Another criticism of the functionalist view on social policy is that it assumes that there is a ‘march of progress’ with social polcies and that social policies are steadily getting better. However, marxists would argue that policies can reverse progress that was previously made such as cutting welfare benefits to poor families.

Donzelot’s Perspecive on Social Policy

• What is meant by the term SURVEILLANCE?

  • Surveillance is the monitoring and observing of families by the state or by professionals that have knowledge such as doctors and social workers.

• What is meant by the term POLICING OF FAMILIES?

  • The term ‘policing of families’ is what Donzelot states as social workers, health visitors and doctors using theiir knowledge to control and change families.

• How does DONZELOT’S VIEW on social policy DIFFER from the FUNCTIONALIST VIEW?

  • Donzelots view on social policy differs from the functionalist view as Donzelot sees social policy as a form of state control over the family and controlling the way the family works and functions, where as the functionalist view sees social policy as helping to create a better and freer and more humane society.

• What are some EVALUATIVE POINTS on DONZELOT’S view on SOCIAL POLICY?

  • One criticism of Donzelot’s view on social policy is that Marxists and Feminists would criticise Donzelot for failing to identify clearly who benefits from such policies of surveillance. Marxists would argue that social policies generally benefit and operate in the interests of the capitalist class, where as Feminists would argue that social policies generally benefit men.

The New Right Perspective on Social Policy

• What FAMILY TYPE is the NEW RIGHT IN FAVOUR OF?

  • The family type that the New Right is in favour of is the traditional nuclear family that is based on a married, heterosexual couple, with a division of labour between a male provider and a female home maker.

• How does the NEW RIGHT VIEW DIFFER TO THE FUNCTIONALIST VIEW?

  • The New Right view differs from the functionalist view as functionalists believe that there are different conjugal roles that men and women might play where as the New Right view believes that the man should be the breadwinner and the woman should be the homemaker.

• What THREE POLICIES DO THE NEW RIGHT VIEW AS THREATENING TO THE CONVENTIONAL NUCLEAR FAMILY?

  • The policies that the New Right views as threatening to the conventional nuclear family are:

    • Laws that make divorce easier

    • Introduction of civil partnerships

    • Tax laws that discriminate against the conventional nuclear family with a sole breadwinner

• What is meant by the idea that WELFARE BENEFITS are ‘PERVERSE INCENTIVES’?

  • The idea that welfare benefits are perverse incentives is that welfare benefits provide ‘rewards’ for irresponsible or anti-social behaviour. For example, cash payments to support one parent families.

• What are TWO EXAMPLES of ways in which BENEFITS MAY ACT AS A ‘PERVERSE INCENTIVE’?

  • One way in which benefits may act as a perverse incentive is that if fathers see that the state will maintain their child then some of them will abandon their responsibilities towards their families.

  • Another way in which benefits may act as a perverse incentive is that providing council housing for unmarried teenage mothers encourages young girls to become pregnant.

• What are some ways in which the NEW RIGHT BELIEVE that TAXES MIGHT BE USED TO ENCOURGAE THE TRADITIONAL NUCLEAR FAMILY?

  • One way in which the New Right believes that taxes can be used to promote the traditional nuclear family is that the New Right believes that tax cuts that favour married couples instead of cohabiting couples would incentivise people to marry.

• How does the NEW RIGHT VIEW ON SOCIAL POLICY DIFFER FROM THE FUNCTIONALIST VIEW?

  • The New Right view on social policy differs from the functionalist view as the New Right argues that welfare policies have had a negative effect on familiy life and that they promote anti-social behaviour, where as the functionalist view would argue that social policies have benefitted family life and allow the family to carry out its functions more efficiently and effectively.

• What are some CRITICISMS of the NEW RIGHT VIEW?

  • One criticism of the New Right view is that Feminists would argue that the New Right view attempts to justify a return to the traditional patriarchal nuclear family that subordinated women to men

  • Another criticism of the New Right view is that it wrongly assumes that the patriarchal nuclear family is natural, rather than just a social construct.

  • A third criticism of the New Right view is that Wallace (1992) hard argued that cutting benefits would simply dirive many poor people into even greater poverty and make them even less self reliant.

  • A fourth criticism of the New Right view is that the New Right ignores the policies that support and maintain the conventional nuclear family and only focuses on the policies that dont support the nuclear family.

• What POLICIES HAS THE NEW RIGHT HAD AN INFLUENCE ON?

  • The policies that the New Right had an influence on were polcies such as: Conservative policies such as banning promotion of homosexuality by local authorities which the New Right was for, and this is because the New Right is in favour of the conventional nuclear family that is based upon a heterosexual, married couple and homosexuality is therefore not a part of what the New Right is for, and the introduction of Parent Orders for parents of truants and young offenders that was introduced by the New Labour which the new Right was also for and this is because the New Right believes that social policy should not cause anti-social behaviour and social problem but instead reduce it.

Feminist Perspective on Social Policy

• How do FEMINISTS show that SOCIAL POLICY CREATES A SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY?

  • Feminists show that social policy creates a self fulfilling prophecy as they state that most social policies assume that the ideal family is the nuclear family. This norm of what the family should look like affects the kind of social policy that governs family life. This reinforces that type of family and thus creates a self fulfilling prophecy.

• What POLICIES do FEMINISTS BELIEVE TO BE SUPPORTING THE PATRIARCHAL FAMILY?

  • The policies that feminsts believe to be supporting the patriarchal family are:

  • Tax and benefits policies as taxes and benefits assume that husbands are the main wage earners and that wives are dependent on their husbands. This can make it impossible for wives to claim social security benefits in their own right, since it is expected that the husband provides.

  • Childcare policies as the government pays for some child care for pre-school children but this is not enough to permit parents to work full time. Other policies that govern school timetables make it hard for mothers to work full time. This then restricts women from working.

  • Care for the sick and elderly policies as the government policy assumes that the family will provide care for the sick and the elderly. This means that women are expected to do this instead of working and so being more dependent on their partners as by caring for the sick and elderly, they likely would not have a job. Leonard argues that even policies that support women still reinforce the patriarchal family.

• What are the TWO GENDER REGIMES that were identified by DREW?

  • Individualistic - The individualistic gender regime is where policies are based on the belief that husband and wife should be treated the same. Wives are not assumed to be financially dependent on their husbands and so both have seperate entitlement to state benefits.

  • Familistic - The familistic gender regime is where polcies are based on a traditional gender division between the male breadwinner and the female homemaker. The familistic gender regime therefore suggests that women are financially dependent on their husbands.

• What is a CRITICISM of the FEMINIST PERSPECTIVE ON SOCIAL POLICY?

  • A criticism of the feministic perspective on social policy is that not all policies are directed at maintaining patriarchy. For example, equal pay and sex discrimination laws and benefits for lone parents could all be said to challenge the patriarchal family.

State VS Market

• What did DREW ARGUE about MOST EU COUNTRIES?

  • Drew argues that most EU countries are now moving towards more individualistic gender regimes. This is likely to bring a move away from the traditional patriarchal family and towards greater gender equality.

  • However, policies such as publicly funded childcare are expensive and they involve conflict about who should benefit from social policies and who should pay for them.

• What did FEMINISTS SAY ABOUT THE IMPACT OF THE CUTBACKS MADE IN 2008?

  • Feminists argue that since the cutbacks that were made in 2008 and onward, they have led to an increase in pressure on women to take more responsibility for caring for family members as the state retreats from providing welfare.

• What are NEO-LIBERAL POLCIES and WHAT HAS BEEN THE IMAPACT OF NEO-LIBERAL POLICIES?

  • Neo-liberal policies are policies in which individuals and families are encouraged to use the market rather than the state to meet their needs.