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34 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What are the five main theories? |
1. Functionalism 2. Marxism 3. Feminism 4. New Right 5. New Labour |
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Functionalism |
'March of Progress' - policies are gradually improving family life |
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Marxism |
Policies serve capitalist interets |
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Feminism |
Social policies designed to benefit men |
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New Right |
Opposed to state intervention/encourage self-reliance |
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New Labour |
Some policies can improve family life |
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What are the effects of policies? |
1. Direct - specifically aimed 2. Indirect - relate to social/economic issues |
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What are social policies? |
Measures taken by state bodies e.g. schools/welfare agencies - usually based on laws implemented by the government |
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Direct effects |
Some policies are specifically aimed at family life e.g. laws on marriage, divorce, child protection, contraception and abortion |
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Indirect effects |
Policies relating to other social/economic issues e.g. compulsory schooling provides working parents with childcare - also ensures children remain financially dependent for longer |
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Functionalism What is the basis of society? |
Value consensus |
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Functionalism Does the state operate in the interests of society as whole? |
Yes - policies are beneficial to everybody |
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Functionalism Why are policies beneficial to the family? |
Enables it to perform its functions - socialisation of children, caring for welfare of members etc. |
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'March of Progress' |
Policies are gradually improving family life e.g. welfare state enables families to care for members better through NHS access etc. |
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The New Right What kind of perspective is the New Right? |
Conservative, political |
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New Right Are they opposed or in favour of state intervention in family life? |
Opposed |
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New Right According to them, which family type is natural? What is the basis of this family type? |
- Nuclear - the basis is biological division of labour between male breadwinner and female nurturer - If parents perform roles sufficiently, family will become self-reliant - able to adequately socialise children/care for its members |
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New Right Are the New Right opposed or in favour of family diversity? |
Opposed - lone parent/same-sex families are detrimental to children |
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New Right According to the New Right, what is the issue in terms of the family and social policy? |
Welfare policies undermine family's self-reliance by providing generous benefits - to lone parent families e.g. |
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New Right What does this provision of benefits result in? |
Dependency culture whereby individuals are dependent on the state to support their families |
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New Right What are 'perverse incentives' and which thinker posited this idea? |
Murry (1984) Benefits reward and ultimately encourage irresponsible behaviour |
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New Right In summary, what do New Right thinkers believe? |
The less the family are dependent on the state, the better |
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New Labour What kind of perspective is New Labour? |
Political |
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New Labour Which family type does the New Labour favour? |
- Traditional, nuclear family - Prefer means-tested benefits targeted at poor, rather than universal benefits |
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New Labour What are the two ways in which New Labour and New Right perspectives differ? |
1. More accepting of family diversity - e.g. introduced Civil Partnership Act and legislation to allow cohabiting couples to adopt 2. Some policies can improve family life e.g. extra benefits for families with low incomes |
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Feminism What kind of perspective is Feminism? |
Conflict |
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Feminism According to feminists, what is the basis of society? |
Conflict of interests between men and women |
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Feminism What do feminists believe society is? |
Patriarchal |
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Feminism According to feminists, who do social policies benefit and what do they maintain? |
Social policies often benefit men and maintain patriarchy - disadvantaging women and ensuring they remain in subordination |
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Feminism According to Land (1978), what assumption do social policies make and what does it result in? Hints: 1. Patriarchy 2. Self-fulling prophecies 3. Maternity/paternity leave |
Policies often assume patriarchal family is the norm - resultantly, policies serve as self-fulfilling prophecies whereby they aid in the reproduction of this very family type e.g. maternity leave is considerably longer than paternity leave, reinforcing ideal that women are responsible and most suitable for childcare |
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Marxism What type of perspective is Marxism? |
Conflict |
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Marxism According to Marxists, what is the basis of society? |
Class division between capitalist class (bourgeoisie) and working class (proletariat) |
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Marxism According to Marxists, what do social policies do? |
Serve capitalist interests |
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Marxism What do policies affecting families often result from? |
Needs of capitalism: 1. During WW2, women were required as reserve army of labour - govt. emplaced nurseries to enable them to work 2. After WW2, women were no longer required and nurseries were closed - forced them back into housewife role and dependence on husbands |
