Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Social Policy - Discipline or Area of Study?

Good Essays
788 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Social Policy - Discipline or Area of Study?
Social Policy is that part of public policy that focuses on improving human conditions i.e. well-being of the public. Social Policy, therefore, is about welfare. It concentrates on social problems such especially issues of education, health, housing, social security and income support. According to Beveridge’s report that was published in 1942 and included in the Labour Party’s 1945 manifesto, Five Giant Social Evils had undermined the British society before the war: ignorance, disease, squalor, idleness and want. These are the five main evils that Social Policy centers on. In my view, Social Policy is interdisciplinary as it draws on many social science subjects but it is a distinct academic discipline in its own right, both in terms of its points of concentration and its methods of analysis. The development of Social Policy as a ‘policy’ and its development as a discipline are closely linked. Formed in 1884, the Fabian Society, which was influenced by the work of labour MP Sidney Webb and that of Booth and Rowntree, challenged the conservative political assumption that economic markets could meet the welfare needs of all was challenged and argued that policy intervention by the state was needed to provide those forms of support and protection which the markets failed to provide. Social Policy was then recognized as an academic discipline of importance when The Webbs – Sidney Webb and his wife Beatrice Webb, both prominent Fabians – established the London School of Economics (LSE). Within it, they incorporated the Charity Organization Society’s School of Sociology to form a new Department of Social Sciences and Administration in 1912. Its first lecturer was Clement Attlee, who became Prime Minister of the UK after the Second World War, and in 1950, Richard Titmuss was appointed as the first Professor of Social Administration in the UK. Until 1987, Social Administration and Social Policy were used interchangeably, but later the name was changed to Social Policy as it was felt that social administration focused largely on analyzing the operation of existing welfare services where as what was now known as Social Policy also analyzed the political and ideological bases of welfare provision. Social Policy is a broad but distinct academic discipline as it is closely related to many social science disciplines, four of the more important ones being Sociology, Economics, Political Economy and Political Science, but it only draws on them to achieve what are believed to be the objectives of a successful social policy: equality, social justice, liberty and the rights of a citizen. Sociology helps one understand the causes and effects of social divisions such as those on the basis of race, gender or class. Its subject matter ranges from the micro level of face-to-face interaction to the macro level of societies at large, and traditionally, sociologists have focused on topics such as social relations, social stratification, social interaction, culture and deviance. Social Policy, on the other hand, is about provision of welfare to these various people and draws on Sociology to become aware of the various social divisions in order to better understand the needs of each particular group and how welfare can be provided to them. Economics explores the concepts of scarcity and resource allocation. In his 1932 essay, British economist Lionel Robbins described economics as the “science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses”. It also provides insight into the concepts of equity and efficiency. These concepts are central to the study of Social Policy as it is the scarce resources that policy-makers work to allocate in a way that ensures the greatest well-being of the people. They must also be able to prove that their policies are both efficient – i.e. they are the least costly and of most benefit to those intended – and equitable or fair – i.e. those in similar categories are considered in similar ways. Political Economy originally was the term for studying production, buying and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government. However, in the eighteenth century, it developed as the study of the economies of states — polities, hence political economy. It is the study of political ideologies and economic management. For a policy-maker, an awareness of these various political ideologies is indispensable as many of these arguments govern the process of making social and economic policies.
Political Science focuses on the interaction between institutions and human behavior and studies the way in which institutions shape choices and how humans change institutional frameworks. It provides an understanding of constitutional arrangements in different countries and their impact on policy formulation. Political Science introduces the student of Social Policy to concepts of equality, social justice, liberty and citizenship.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Wedel, D. C. (2005). Social policy and social programs: A method for the practical public policy analyst 4th ed. Boston: Pearson Education.…

    • 1552 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Social welfare refers to the opportunities that people have to live in a free and safe environment with access to…

    • 534 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Liberals made many social reforms which were not necessarily directly helpful to the individual issues at hand but they did create grounds for the welfare estate to be built upon and highlighted the areas which needed attention for a better minimum quality of life. Areas focused on were free meals and health checks at schools, pensions and insurances. For example, the 1906 School Meals Act allowed children to have a free daily meal. This was effective in 1914 as by then, 14 million were receiving the free meals which duly led to a better economy however the negatives outweighed the positives as the issue with having the act voluntary until 1912 meant that over half of the authorities didn’t provide meals. Furthermore, proving eligibility was very difficult so there were many errors which occurred with the system. Rather similarly, Old Aged Pensioners couldn’t receive their money due to identity proofing issues. Household issues were ignored which was one of the Liberal’s negatives however, this is without taking into account that only so many areas could have been focused on. Although the Liberals never catered for the needs of all people, their reforms managed to always bring some improvement into areas of health, education and the future of citizens, no matter how poor in places they were. The Liberal Social Reforms did improve the lives of the British citizens to some extent, the main achievement being that the existence of the reforms themselves allowed to building of the welfare estate which is a factor that makes Britain as strong as it is today.…

    • 932 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In May 1945, the coalition government that had steered Britain through the perilous days of the Second World War was finished. It was replaced by the Labour party who had the challenging task of rebuilding the country after the losses of the Second World War. The Labour government of 1945 made the first drastic steps towards the welfare state. William Beveridge had been commissioned to write a report on the causes of poverty and this became the basis for the Labour reforms. These reforms identified that there were five ‘giants’ of poverty (Squalor, Want, Disease, Ignorance, and Idleness), all of which…

    • 3424 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Labour Reforms 1945-1951

    • 1061 Words
    • 5 Pages

    When the war ended in 1945, the Labour Government, led by Clement Atlee, were faced with tackling numerous problems that existed in Britain. Their aim was to meet the welfare needs of the British people who, during the war, got used to support provided by the government. In 1942, a Civil Servant and an experienced worker on social welfare named William Beveridge constructed a report which would go on to become the basis for the Labour reforms. By 1951, Labour had introduced many different reforms aiming to tackle the problems that faced Britain. The Beveridge Report identified what is known as the 5 giants; these include disease, want, squalor, idleness and ignorance. Arguably the most important and successful were the acts introduced to tackle disease and want, but some may disagree. Nevertheless, it is clear that the Labour government met most of the needs of the British people between 1945-1951.…

    • 1061 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    social policy, written after the Second World War by William Beveridge, constituted an effort to improve the U.K. welfare system (Miller, 1999). The report recommended measures that would be able to tackle identified social evils, such as poverty, disease, squalor, idleness and ignorance (Chandler, 2002). The suggested policies found in the Beveridge report were initially implemented by the Labour Party after the Second World War. The welfare state offered children’s allowances, unemployment insurances, and free national healthcare (Miller, 1999). The chief goal was to eliminate the evils identified in the Beveridge report and furnish a more socially just socio-economic framework (Miller, 2009).…

    • 1634 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Social policy relates to guidelines for the changing, maintenance or creation of living conditions that are conducive to human welfare. Thus social policy is that part of public policy that has to do with social issues. Social policy aims to improve human welfare and to meet human needs for education, health, housing and social security. The Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy at Harvard University describes it as "public policy and practice in the areas of health care, human services, criminal justice, inequality, education, and labor.…

    • 706 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    References: George, V., and Wilding,P, 1984, The Impact of Social Policy, Routledge and Kegan Paul…

    • 4085 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    After two unsuccessful electoral campaigns in the late 19th century and early 20th century, numerous splits in the party after William Gladstone's retirement, and the growing awareness of the issue of poverty within the UK, key figures within the Liberal party realised a change in the direction of Liberalism was required. They pushed for 'New Liberalism', a more modern form of Liberalism that stressed numerous key fundamental values, one of which was that intervention by the state was key in establishing a minimum quality of life for people within the country. Thus from their electoral triumph in 1906, and especially from 1908 onwards, the Liberal government passed a series of social and welfare reforms in an attempt to raise the quality of living standards within the UK. The Liberals based these reforms on three main groups within society, the elderly, the young, and the unemployed. This essay will explore several of the reforms the Liberal government introduced including the National Insurance act, the old age pensions act, a selection of educational acts, as well as acts regarding employment issues; assessing the aims of the acts and arguing how successful they actually proved to be in reducing the issue of poverty in the UK.…

    • 1369 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Collectivism, New Right,

    • 336 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Since the Poor Law was passed in 1601, the state has been responsible for the care of the vulnerable but there was still no significant change until the 19th century; the birth of the Welfare State occurred after the Second World War. In 1942 the Beveridge Report provided the foundation for the creation of a wide range of welfare services. Lord Beveridge’s Report on Social Insurance and Allied Services identified five giant evils which are holding back society: Want (poverty), Squalor (poor housing), Idleness (unemployment), Ignorance (inadequate education) and Disease (ill health). He felt these needed to be addressed urgently by the state.…

    • 336 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In this assignment we will be focusing on Social Welfare in Britain and discussing social reformers in Britain through-out history. We will discuss Adam Smith and his analogy, Jeremy Bentham, the Victorians and their era and William Beveridge. My assignment will finish by discussing Margaret Thatcher and her several initiatives.…

    • 2060 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Social Policy

    • 641 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Demonstrate an understanding of the historical and ideological developments of UK social policy, identifying the underpinning principles and values.…

    • 641 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Creating a Social Program

    • 1895 Words
    • 8 Pages

    References: Chambers, D. & Wedel, K. (2005). Social Policy and Social Programs: A method for the…

    • 1895 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Social Policy

    • 1807 Words
    • 8 Pages

    StepDown Community Services, like any agency has key policies and procedures that as an employee I must adhere to. These policies are influenced by legislation and quality assurance systems and at heart promote the rights and responsibilities of the individuals that we care for. Three of the key policies at StepDown are; Care Planning & Review Policy, Behaviour Management Policy & Staff Selection Procedures.…

    • 1807 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Better Essays

    Social Policy

    • 1475 Words
    • 5 Pages

    1. Private troubles can become public issues when there is a problem that has moved from a micro level to a macro level in society. This means that personal problems can start to affect a small number of individuals and their immediate relations. When the number of individuals who have the same problem rises on a larger scale, and it impacts on more than half of society, it then becomes a public issue. An example of this could be a massive company who went into liquidation, causing a whole workforce to become unemployed. There may be people who have spent all their working life in that job, therefore have no other skills or experience to get another job. When these issues are discovered the government make policies and legislation to try to resolve it, these are called social policies.…

    • 1475 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays