Social Policy

Unit 6 - Social Policy

Difference between a social and sociological problem:

• Social policy: refers to the packages of plans and actions adopted by national and local governments or various voluntary agencies to solve social problems or achieve other goals that are seen as important.
• Social problem: something that is seen as being harmful to society in some way and Worsley states it causes public friction and/or private misery.

Social problems:

• Many of these problems have social explanations and are created by wider social factors.
• They need social policy solutions to tackle them.

The Influence of William Beveridge:

• William Beveridge, the chief architect of the British Welfare state for the reason for many social policies that still exist today, termed the 'five giants'.
• In modern terms, these giants were poverty, ill, health, poor housing, insufficient education and unemployment.
• The welfare state was created based on the findings of the Beveridge report of 1942 which identified the '5 evil giants' in society.
• As a result, the following laws were passed to help create and shape the welfare state: National Insurance Act (1946), National Health Service Act (1946), National Assistance Act (1948)

The contribution of sociology to social policy:

• Governments produce social policies based on sociological research.
• The work of sociologists in areas such as education, health, poverty and crime have had important effects on the social policies of governments.
• Some important bodies that produce research to feed into the formation of social policy are the Institute of Public Policy Research and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Giddens - 9 ways that sociology can help us in our lives and contribute to the formulation of social policy:

1. Providing an awareness of cultural differences: seeing society from different perspectives allows us to become more aware of different cultures. Thus, it's easier for policymakers to tailor policies more effectively.

2. Providing self-awareness and understanding: This helps us to reflect on ourselves and therefore key issues. If we can understand experiences such as racism, sex, and discrimination we can empower people to change their lives.

3. Changing assumptions: McNeil - sociological research can indirectly influence social policy by being absorbed into taken-for-granted common sense assumptions. It helps us make sense of reasonable policies but ridicule silly policies.

4. Providing a theoretical framework: governments base their policies on a framework e.g. Thatcher had a postmodern view also influenced by the New Right, and New Labour (1997-2010) influenced by Giddens.

5. Providing practical professional knowledge: sociologists work in a range of occupations, and they provide professional inputs as social policy is formed from a range of ideas.

6. Identifying social problems: if we can identify social problems and fix them.

7. Providing the evidence: sociologists do the surveys, can collect the statistics, analyse the problem, suggest explanations etc. Policymakers can then draw on this info to form evidence-based policies.

8. Identifying the unintended consequences of policies: sociological research can evaluate existing policies and draw out any unintended consequences of these policies.

9. Assuming the results: sociological research can help establish whether policies have worked and whether they've achieved their targets.

How has sociology influenced social policy?

• Charles Murray influenced Thatcher's government throughout the 1980s (cut the welfare state)
• New labour government 1997-2010 influenced by Giddens (focus on social cohesion and social order)
• The right realist Wilson developed his broken window theory that directly influenced government policy in New York.
• Labour governments - compensatory education through sure start.
• EMA payments to pupils from low-income households by the Labour government 1997-2010 - party as a result of Smith and Nobles study that found that lack of money for educational resources and travel was a barrier to continuing in education.
• The Black Report 1980 - identified the huge inequalities in health.

What influenced the government's introduction of social policies:

1)Electoral Popularity:

• Sociological research might result in sociologists recommending a social policy that might prove to be unpopular with voters. Governments will be reluctant to introduce an unpopular social policy that might lose them an election.
• Ministry of Justice's own research suggest prison cuts crime so little that it hardly justifies the money it costs to lock up prisoners

2. The ideological preferences and biases of governments:

• If a sociological researcher's political perspective is similar to the political ideology of the government, they will stand more chance of influencing that government's policies.
• There is some evidence that politicians are selective in their use of sociological research and will only take note of it if it justifies or supports their political stance or policies.
• New Right ideas about reducing crime were very popular with the Coalition government.
• However, sociologists who are critical of the state and/or capitalist society such as Marxists may be regarded by the government as too extreme, hostile or impractical. Their social policy recommendations are likely to be ignored or rejected.
• The Black Report (1980) and the Acheson Report (1998) both produced very similar research, highlighting the health inequalities in society between the different socio-economic groups.
• The Black Report was buried by the Conservative Government which refused to implement its findings as it 'cost' too much
• The Acheson Report had a direct influence on health policy under the Labour government

3. Interest Groups:

• These are pressure groups that seek to influence government policies in their own interests.
• For example, sociologists might urge the government to bring in a social policy that raises the minimum wage in order to reduce poverty.
• However, interest groups that represent large business groups may succeed in persuading the government to reject this social policy.

4. Globalisation:

• UK's social policy may be influenced by global factors. For example, sociologists may recommend that UK aid to less-developed nations should be spent on free national education and healthcare systems in order to lift people out of poverty.
• However, the UK government often takes advice about how aid should be distributed from global organisations such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

5. Cost:

• Even if the government is sympathetic to the sociological research, it may not have sufficient funds (money) to turn the research into a social policy or it may have other more important spending priorities and commitments.
• The Coalition Government had to cut back on welfare spending in order to save money (austerity)

6. Public Opinion:

• Some sociological research may be reported by the mass media and consequently, motivate public debate about a particular problem which politicians and governments feel they have to act upon by introducing new laws.
• Some social science research has been published so much by the media that it has become part of mainstream culture.
• For example, the idea that if children are separated from their mothers, they may grow up with mental health problems.

Should Sociology be involved in Social Policy research?

Different perspectives hold different views of the nature of the state and social policy it produces:

• Positivism: the role of sociological research was to scientifically discover the cause of social problems and to come up with scientifically-biassed solutions to them.
• Functionalism: the sociologist's role is to provide the state with objective and unbiased data collected in a scientific fashion.
• Feminism: Radical feminism - the state is seen as perpetuating women's subordination through its social policies. Liberal feminism - policies can improve the position of women (and have done so)
• Social democratic: social policies should be introduced by governments in order to re-distribute wealth and income from rich to poor to produce a fairer and more equal society.
• Marxism: the state represents the ruling class and its social policies serve the interests of capitalism, not those of society as a whole.
• New Right: The New Right believes that the state should have only minimal involvement in society. In particular, they are opposed to using state provision of welfare to deal with social problems.
• Postmodernism: sociology has no contribution to making social policy. Sociology only provides interpretations of the world, rather than universal truths or firm evidence.

The View that Sociology should be involved in social policy research:

• Functionalists and Liberal feminists think it should.
• Marsland argues that systematic and empirical sociological research is important and plays a constructive role in policy. He argues that policymakers ignore sociological research and sociological researchers lack commitment to the cause. He argues it would be better for society if sociologists got involved in evidence-based policymaking.

The View that Sociology shouldn't be involved in social policy research:

• In some cases, sociologists may tone down their findings and policy recommendations because they want to continue to do research in the future and do not want to risk alienating their paymasters.
• Research may actually create rather than solve problems and then completely ignore them (The Black Report)
• There's a risk that too close an involvement in applied research can mean that policymaking - a political process - becomes the driving force of sociology. Sociology becomes a means for the government to extend its power and reach.
• What then happens to objectivity? Governments pick and choose what they want to implement and what they want to ignore.