Social Policy

What are social policies and why do we need them?

The term “Social Policy” is used most commonly used in reference to the generation and expansion of social welfare, as well as administration and government policies utilized for the purpose of social protection. Social policy is closely related to the governmental approach of the development of social services towards the formation of a welfare state (Alcock, 2003). The British welfare state is often associated with the 'poor laws', established to tend to the needs of the disadvantaged. Social policy is not merely an academic subject, but is closely related to the social and economic conditions of a country, seeking methods to promote these conditions for the development of a welfare state.

Taylor's intent was to go beyond postmodernist arguments, believing that unique identity and difference from a social perspective should also be factors of consideration, alongside structural inequalities within the theoretical elements of social policy. Taylor suggests that there are several problems in the public understanding of the concept of social policy, he believes the concept to be widely misunderstood which in turn aids in the delineation of the necessity for a provisional theory that can distinguish between categorical and ontological identity in social policy. He believes this would assist in improving the understanding of the role of social policy in society and how it contributes to the formation of social

Deacon and Mann (1999) examine individual behaviour in the field of sociology and social policy research. The focus of their study is the individual and the ever increasing moral and ethical predicaments faced by an individual in a contemporary society, such as todays. This aspect has wide implications in social policy which is concerned with the general wellbeing of every individual - a sense of wellbeing plays a principal role in moral and ethical values. The authors indicate that moralists Field and Mead share the need for the restructuring of welfare in a way that would better facilitate responsible moral behaviour. Sociologists Beck and Bauman believe that a forced method, such as this, could potentially prove not only futile but perhaps even dangerous. Individualistic approaches face considerable resistance from communities that fear support for atavistic individualism. Despite this, the authors accept the need for a revival of approaches based on the individual human agency that facilitate the creation of opportunities within social science, sensitizing it to the necessities of a contemporary diverse