Families and social policy

What is a good example of the relationship between social policy and the family?

China's one child policy.

The governments population control discouraged couples from having more than one child. The policy is supervised by workplace family planning comitees- women must seek their workplace's permission to become pregnant and there is often a  waiting list and quota. Couples who comply with the policy recieve benefits, such as free child health care and higher tax allowances. Only children also get priority in education and housing in later life. Couples who have more than one child must pay back allowances and pay a fine, women recieve pressure to undergo steralisation after their first child.

What social policy did communist Romania put in place?

The communist government of Romania intorduced a number of policies to drive up birth rate, which had been falling as living standrads declined. it restricted contraception and abortion, set up infertility treatment centres, made divorce more difficult, lowered the legal age of marriage to 15 and  made unmarried adults and childless couples  pay an extra 5% income tax.

What was the nazi family policy?

In Nazi Germany the state pursued a twofold policy. They encouraged the health and supposedly racially pure to breed a master race, by restricting abortion and contraception. On the other hand the state, compulsorily steralised 375,000 disabled peoplethat it deemed to be unfit on the frounds of a physical malformation. Many of these people were later murdered in concentration camps.

What is the social policy which effects thefamily in democratic societies?

In democratic societies such as Britain, the family is private sphere of life in which the government does not intervene, except for cases where things go wrong such as child abuse. 

How do functionalists believe social policy effects the family and what does fletcher say?

Functionalists see social policy as helping families to perform their functions more effectively and make life better for their members. 

Fletcher agues the introduction of health, education and housing polcies in the years since the industrial revolution has gradually led to the development of a welfare state that supports the family in performing its functions effectively. E.g. the NHS means with help from doctors, nurses, hospitals and medicenes the family is better able to take care of its members when they are sick.

How the functionalist view of the family and social policy be crticised?

• It assumes that all members of the family benefit equally from social policies, wheras feminitsts would arggie that policies often benefit men at the expense of women.
• It assumes there is a march of progress with social policies steadly making society better. Marxists argue polciies can turn the clock back and reverse progress previously made, for example cutting welfare benefits to poor people.

What view does Donzelot have of society?

Donzelot has a conflict view of society and he sees policy as a form of state power and control over families.

What is the concept of suviellance Donzaelot applies to the family?

Donzelot applies Foucualts concept of surviellance to the family, and he is interested in how professionals carry put the surviellance of families. He argues health visitors, social workers and doctors use their knowledge to control and change families- he calls this the policing of families. He arges that poor families are more likely to be seen as problem families and as the cause of crime and anti-social behaviour, these are the families professionals target for improvement. 

What is an example of state control of families through surviellance?

Condry notes the state seeks to control and  regulate family life by imposing compusory parenting orders through the courts. Parents of young offenders or badly behave dchildren may be forced to attend parenting classes to learn the correct way to bring up their children.

Why does Donzelot reject the functionalists march of progress view?

As he sees social policy as a form of state control over the family. He sees an importance of professional knowledge as a form of power and control.

How do Marxists and Feminists criticise Donzelot?

They crticise Donzelot for failing to indentify clearly who benefits from such policies of surveillance. Marxists argue social policy operates in the interest of the capitalist class, and feminists argue they benefit men.

What has encouraged the changes which the new right see as negative?

Social policy has encouraged greater family diversity, increases in divorce, cohabitation, same sex partnerships and lone parenthood, which the new right see as threating the conventional nuclear family and producing social problm such as crime and welfare dependency.

What does Almond argue about the negative impact of social policy on the nuclear family?

• Laws making divorce easier undermine the idea of marriage as a lifetime of commitment between man and woman
• The introduction of civil partnerships of gay and lesbian couples sends out the message that the state no longer sees hetreosexual realtionships as superior to other domestic set ups.
• Tax laws discriminate agaisnt coventional families, with a sole breadwinner.

For new right thinkers how does social policy impact family roles and relationships?

Current policies encourage a dependency culture, where individuals come to depend on the state to support them and their children rather than being self-reliant. This threatens two essential functions that the family fulfils for society: the sucessful socialisation of the  young and the maintenence of the work ethic among men. 

What is the new rights solution to the negative impact of social policy?

They argue policy must be changed, with cuts in welfare spending anf tighter restrictions on welfare spending, and tighter restrictions for who is edgible for benefits. This would have several advantages, cutting welfare would mean tax could also be reduced, both these would give fathers more of an incentive to work. Denying council housing  to unmarried teen mothers would remove the incentive of becoming pregannt young. The new right also advocates policies to support the traditional nuclear family, such as taxes that favour marries couples, making absent fathers more financially responsible. 

How can the new right be crticised?

• Feminsits argue it is an attempt to justify a retuen to the tradtional patriarchal nuclear family that subordinated women and confined them to a domestic role.
• It wrongly assumes the patriarchal nuclear family is natural rather than socially constructed.
• Abbott and Wallace argue cutting benefits would drive many poor families into even greater poverty and make them even less self reliant.

How were new right views reflected in the conservative government from 1979-97?

Thatchers government banned the promotion of homosexuality by local authorities, this included a ban on teaching that homosexuality was accpetable. The conservatives also defined divorce as a social problem, and emphasised the continued responsiblty of parents for their children after divorce. They set up the child support agency to enforce maintenance payments by absent parents.

How were new right policies reflected in the new labour government from 1997-2010?

They saw a family headed by a married, heterosexual couple as the best environment to bring up children. The also emphasised  the need for parents to take responsiblity for their children for example bu introducing parenting orders.

How did new labour reject the new right view?

Rejected the view thaat the family should have a single earner and recognised women should now go out to work too.

What polcies by new labour reflected the dual-earner neo-conventional family described by Chester?

• Longer maternity leave, three months unapid leave for both parents and the right to seek time off work for family reasons. This made it easier for both parents to work.
• Working families tax credits enabiling parents to claim some tax relief on their childcare costs
• The new deal helping lone parents to return to work. 

How did the new labour government further reject new right ideas?

New labour argued that certain types of state intevention were needed and coule improve life for families. E.g. their welfare, taxattion and minimum wage polciies were partly aimed at lifting children out of pvoerty by re-distributing income to the poor through higher benefits.

New labour also supported alternatives to the nuclear family. Policies included:

• Civil partnerships for same sex couples.
• Giving unmarried couples the same rights as married couples.
• Outlawing discrimination on the grounds of sexuality.

How did the coalition government oppose new riight ideas?

The coilition government meant it was difficult for the conservatives to maintian a consitent policy line. The coalition government introduced gay marriage.They failied to promote the new right ideal of a conventional nuclear family.

What do feminsits believe about social policy?

Feminists such as Land argue that many social polcies assume that the ideal family type is the patriarchal nuclear family with a male provider and female homemaker. This affects the kind of policies which govern family life. The effect of the policies is to reinforce the nuclear family at expense of other family types which creates self-fulfilling prophecy.

Give an example of how social policy for the family creates self-fulfilling prophecy-

E.g. if the state assumes that normal families are based on marriage and offers tax incentives to married couples that are not available to cohabitating couples, this may encourage marriage and discourage cohabitation. In effect, the policy makes it more difficult for people living in other family types.

How did the coalition government oppose new riight ideas?

The coilition government meant it was difficult for the conservatives to maintian a consitent policy line. The coalition government introduced gay marriage.They failied to promote the new right ideal of a conventional nuclear family.

What do feminsits believe about social policy?

Feminists such as Land argue that many social polcies assume that the ideal family type is the patriarchal nuclear family with a male provider and female homemaker. This affects the kind of policies which govern family life. The effect of the policies is to reinforce the nuclear family at expense of other family types which creates self-fulfilling prophecy.

Give an example of how social policy for the family creates self-fulfilling prophecy-

E.g. if the state assumes that normal families are based on marriage and offers tax incentives to married couples that are not available to cohabitating couples, this may encourage marriage and discourage cohabitation. In effect, the policy makes it more difficult for people living in other family types.

How can feminsits view of social policy be criticised?

Not all polciies are aimed at maintaining patriarchy. For example, the equal pay and sex disrimination laws, the right for lesbians to marry, benefits for lone parents, refuges for women to  escape domestic violence and equal rights to divorce could all be siad to challenge the patriarchal family. Similary, **** within marriagge was made a criminal offence in 1991.

Why does Drew use the concept of gender regimes?

To describe how social policies in different countires can either encourage or discourage gender equality in the family and at work.

What are the two types of gender regime- give examples?

• Famalistic gender regime- where policies are based on a traditional gender division bettween the male bread winner and housewife and carer. E.g. in Greece there is little state welfare of publicly funded childcare. Women rely heavily on support from their extended family and there is a traditional division of labour
• Individualistic gender regimes- where policies are based on the belief that husbands and wives shouuld be treated the same. Wives are not assumed  to be finacially dependent on their husband, so each partner has a seperate entitlement to state benefits. E.g. in Sweden, policies treat husbands and wives as equally responsible for breadwinning  and domestic tasks. Equal opportunities polciies, state provison of childcare, parental leave and good  quality welfare services means women are less dependent on their husbands.

Why would  it be niave to assume there is a march of progress towards gender equality?

As polciies such as chilcare do not come cheap and they involve major conflicts about who should benefit and from social policies and who should pay.

What do cutbacks in government spending lead to?

A trend  towards liberal welfare policies in which individuals and families use themarket rather than the state to meet their needs, for example through private pension and privat care of the elderly.