Terms in Social Work

1. Differentiate between a Social Issue and the Social Problems. Please provide three Bahamian examples for each.
Social issues are political debates involving moral judgments about how people should live. (Brennen, 2013) Three examples of social issues in The Bahamas are gambling, teenage pregnancy, and homosexuality. Social problems are societal induced conditions that harm any segment of the population. Social problems are also related to acts and conditions that violate the norms and values found in society. (Brennen, 2013) Three examples of social problems in The Bahamas are crime, drug addiction and alcohol addiction.
A social problem only exists when society decides on voicing their opinion, as social problems are defined by society themselves. A prime example of society defining a social problem is when there is always a presence of the social problem via media. These social problems should always be accepted by society without further consideration – as sheep to the slaughter. Things should always be taken at face value. Social issues differ from social problem as it is being judged from an objective perspective rather than a subjective standpoint. Social issues reflect how issues affect society as a whole not from an individual perspective. Both social issues and social problems negatively affect society. However, social problems have a greater effect on society than social issues.

2. Differentiate between a Social Policy and Social Movement. Provide one example of each.
A social policy is a formal strategy to shape some aspect of social life or society. (Brennen, 2013) A social policy is an effort put in place to change the way a person views someone or something. It is an effort to diversify the current state of society. Society is fixed on its interpretations on how they think people are and how they think the world is. Their fixed mentality can be blamed on the lack of knowledge. Lack of knowledge keeps people in a conventional state of mind. Social policies are designed to challenge this and bring forth a change in society. Examples of the term social policy can be seen in the following areas, abortion and the regulation of its practice, euthanasia, homosexuality, the rules surrounding issues of marriage, divorce, adoption, the legal status of recreational drugs, and the legal status of prostitution. Social movements are an organized effort to encourage or discourage some dimension of social change. (Brennen, 2013) Social movement exemplifies unity within a society. When people experience or come face- to- face with inequality, there is a bond which is created between them because the same people are being discriminated against. When a problem inflicts pain on one person, the whole society or group feels the pain. The pain becomes their pain and the society not all takes and carries the burden, but also fights for the rights and equality of others. An example of this within the Bahamas is the Woman’s Suffrage Movement, Bahamian women worked tirelessly along with men to resist and redress the racial discrimination and the political and economic inequities that permeated Bahamian society. Women from all walks of life played a significant role in helping to advance the social, political and economic rights for Bahamians and, thereby, creating a deeper understanding of freedom and a more democratic society. (Bethel, 2012)
Social Policy is also an academic discipline focusing on the systematic evaluation of societies' response to social need. In retrospect when short-lived impulses give way to long-term aims, and when sustained association takes the place of situational groupings of people, the result is a social movement. Social Policy is focused on those aspects of the economy, society and policy that are necessary to human existence and the means by which they can be provided. Social movement, loosely organized but sustained campaign in support of a social goal, typically either the implementation or the prevention of a change in society’s structure or values. The term 'social policy' can also refer to policies which govern human behavior. Social policy aims to improve human welfare and to meet human needs for education, health, housing and social security. Although social movements differ in size, they are all essentially collective. That is, they result from the more or less spontaneous coming together of people whose relationships are not defined by rules and procedures but who merely share a common outlook on society. Important areas of social policy are the welfare state, social security, unemployment insurance, environmental policy, pensions, health care, social housing, social care, child protection, social exclusion, education policy, crime and criminal justice. (wikipedia.org, 2013)

3. Explain the role of power, inequality, and privilege in Conflict Theory.
Conflict theory is a theoretical framework which sees society as divided by inequality and conflict. Conflict theorists see society less as a cohesive system and more an arena of conflict and power struggles. Instead of people working together to further the goals of the “social system,” people are seen achieving their will at the expense of others. (Brennen, 2013) To best explain conflict theory an examination of two other theories need to place into perspective functionalist and symbolic interactionism theories. In the functionalist theory visualizes society as a system where all the parts work together even though they may be doing different things. Associated with this system is the structure and institutes such as family, education and religion. The overall goal of the various structures is to maintain order in society. The structures in society promote integration, stability, consensus within a society. (Brennen, 2013) The symbolic interactionism theory visualizes society as a product of individuals interacting with one another. The scope of investigation is usually small resulting in many face-to-face addresses. This theory is interested in the way individuals act toward or influence each other. Each communication produces new perspectives, expectations and boundaries that individuals use to assure cultural interactions in the future. (Brennen, 2013) With that being said we can objectively and subjectively define and respond to the role of power, inequality and privilege in conflict theory.
This theory is derived from the works of Karl Marx. In this theory the role of power is understood to be in the hands of those who have the greatest political, economic, and social resources. In the simpler term they dominate society. The conflict theory argues that inequality exists because a selective few control the majority of society’s resources leaving the majority without an option. The majority are coerced by those who have power. This conflict theory perspective is in agreement with the Eurocentric view. Individuals advance their resources and worry about their own interests. Competition, individualism and survival of the fittest are predicted within the conflict theory. In the conflict theory, power is the core of all social relationships. Power is deemed to be the most important thing when it comes to a society and whoever does not possess power is left with a disadvantage. Inequality is characterized by the existence of unequal opportunities and rewards for different social positions or statuses within a group or society. It contains structured and recurrent patterns of unequal distributions of goods, wealth, opportunities, rewards, and punishments. Inequality of opportunities refers to the unequal distribution of "life chances" across individuals. This is reflected in measures such as level of education, health status, and treatment by the criminal justice system. For example, upper-class white males typically have more opportunities for wealth and success compared to lower-class black males, who have a higher chance of landing in the criminal justice system. Privilege is an unearned advantage one has by virtue of membership in a certain group. To be underprivileged generally means an individual lacks the opportunities and advantages enjoyed by others in their community. (www.boundless.com) Today in The Bahamas this theory is very evident within our society as unequal groups within society have conflicting values and agendas. Those in power are looking to gain more whilst those who have less attempt to make ends meet. With this current social climate within this country we can see the struggle between the “have’s” and “have not’s”, as the “have’s” are the ones with these privilege and power to do as they please, and the “have not’s” struggle daily to find the basics necessities of life.

4. Discuss the Subjective Nature of Social Problems.
Individuals argue that what is considered a social problem is dependent on time and audiences, which is referred to as the subjective nature of social problems. This perspective explains how a phenomenon is to be defined as a social problem. To effectively discuss the subjective nature of social problems it is important to note it differs from the objective reality of social problems. The objective reality argues that some conditions are detrimental in any situation. (Brennen, 2013) Examples of these conditions may include poverty, racism, and sexism. These are problems that exist regardless of personal or cultural opinion. As a result it is evident that these conditions are the objective reality to social problems within any society.
These two terms at times can be considered similar but there are differences as for the subjective nature of social problems, are not problems for everyone and would only be mentioned depending on who is being questions. As for example unemployment, racism, crime and sexism are significant illustrations. In the Bahamas unemployment and crime are two major factors within our society. Although crime is ever present in New Providence this may not be the reality of the other islands within the Bahamas are not faced with this social problem. Same as for the wealthier individuals who live behind gated communities are oblivious to the acts of those who live in the ghetto. This may impose an issue as not because one group is not affect then there are no policies in place to implement change. But the reality is that the few are not affected while the majority are and they view issues form Eurocentric view than Afrocentric, instead of trying to prevent further damage let it go undermined. It is in my view that one segment of society will always be harmed while the next is oblivious or too caught up in themselves to realize that eventually the same issues will affect us all as a whole instead of individually. 5. What examples of Person-Blame Approach do you see in The Bahamas?
People generally understand social problems as some sort of pathology experienced by individuals. This approach assumes that universal norms exist. Behavior is then considered deviant depending on how it strays away from these norms. We usually define social problems as behaviors that deviate from the norms and standards of society. Those who deviate from these norms are considered trouble in the person-blame approach. Examples of the person-blame approach is, someone who believes in the person-blame approach will blame a poor person for their poverty without regard to the unequal distribution of wealth, will blame the dropout for leaving school without looking at how the educational system is failing, or will blame an unemployed person for not having a job without looking at the economic effects of globalization. To sum up, those who believe in the person-blame approach have a strong tendency to blame social problems on individuals rather than on the social system. A consequence of a person-blame approach is that it promotes the idea that anything that happens to someone is due to a control individuals have over their own fate. (instruction.blackhawk.edu, 2006)
To best further answer the question an examination of few perspectives are needed to effectively give examples of the person-blame approach. They are cultural deprivation, recidivism and social Darwinism. Cultural deprivation contends that people who blame the victim often uses culture as the cause of the problem. We, in The Bahamas, have immigrants, especially Haitians, are looked down on and considered inferior by Bahamian society. They are considered the problem in our society and face the blame for high crime rates and overcrowded public systems. Recidivism, refers to a tendency to relapse into a previous condition or mode of behavior. Within our criminal justice system three-fourths of the release criminals are re-arrested within four years. A person-blamer might argue that fault lies in the criminal even though rehabilitation is poor at Her Majesty’s Fox Hill Prison. Social Darwinism which of course is the work of evolution theorist Charles Darwin. This theory is actually a distorted version of Darwin’s evolution belief. This theory argues that the species most fit will survive while the weak will perish eventually. The most notable individual who attempted to apply logic of Darwinism was Herbert Spencer. He argued that “the poor are poor because they are unfit”. A perfect example of this within our society are those individuals who live in the ghetto or poor areas. Spencer would argue that they live the way they do because nature is excreting unhealthy and faithless members of society. It justifies Social Darwinism, the placement of people in a stratification system based on their ability and effort. The person- blame approach is in an individualistic perspective. Within our society we have either been an example of these examples or a victim of them.

Reference
Bethel, M. (2012, February 29). The women’s suffrage movement in the Bahamas 1948-1962. Retrieved June 10, 2013, from http://www.cob.edu.bs/conferences/womenssuffrage50_history.php

Boundless.com. Conflict perspective. Retrieved June 10, 2013, from https://www.boundless.com/sociology/understanding-gender-stratification-and-inequality/theoretical-perspectives-on-gender-stratification/conflict-perspective-2/

Brennen, S. (2013). Lecture Notes.

Instruction.blackhawk.edu (2006) Social problems. Retrieved June 10, 2013, from http://instruction.blackhawk.edu/ghoffarth/social%20problems/socunit1.htm

Wikipedia.org (2013, June 7). Social policy. Retrieved June 10, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_policy