Exploring Welfare Debates

Key Concepts and Questions

Gregory, Lee

• Publisher: Policy Press
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781447326588
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Social Policy
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Visually and pedagogically rich, this wide-ranging introduction to key concepts and debates in welfare uses an innovative, question-based narrative to highlight the importance of theory to understanding welfare. In particular, it: • Introduces concepts that are core to how policy is formulated and implemented. • Provides students with a comprehensive vocabulary and toolkit for analysing policy examples and developing social science arguments. • Includes stimulus material, diagrams, critical thinking activities, further reading lists and a companion website containing further policy examples, podcasts and class activities. Written by an experienced and inspiring lecturer, this book is suitablefor undergraduate students of social policy, sociology, politics, public policy, social work, health and social care, particularly those taking courses on 'welfare theory', 'principles of social policy', 'key issues in welfare policy' and similar.Using some of the hottest current debates about the problems and benefits of state-funded welfare, this book develops students' social science understanding and analytic skills.

1

Introduction

Social Policy, perhaps more than any other social science, is preoccupied with the pursuit of human welfare. As a field of study, it looks at how social problems are constructed and what responses can be created and implemented to resolve them. Typically, introductions to Social Policy start by exploring how the discipline draws on a number of Social Sciences to understand particular topics – such as housing, education, health and income maintenance – with the implicit assumption that human welfare can be secured by addressing these specific aspects of social life.

Richard Titmuss (1971:20), the founding father of the discipline of Social Policy, highlighted the importance of this approach: ‘Basically, we are concerned with the study of a range of social needs and the functioning, in conditions of scarcity, of human organisations, traditionally called social services or social welfare systems, to meet these needs.’ A number of key debates can be drawn from this quote. We will be exploring these debates in this book. The central point is around the concept of social need and how this is fundamental to the concept of welfare. Need, as Chapter 3 will explore, indicates certain goods and services required to secure both individual and social welfare – items that, when missing from our lives, hinder us in various ways. Lack of food results in hunger. Inadequate housing can cause health problems. Inadequate education could result in poor job opportunities. What is embedded within this quote is the means by which societies organise their resources to meet these needs. For Titmuss, our welfare needs are too important to be left to the market (commercial organisations through which we can buy access to goods and services); their importance requires that affordability should not be a factor in satisfying them. This illustrates a broader debate between the state and the market as providers of welfare. We will explore these terms in due course in the early chapters in this book. For now, this introductory chapter has two core aims:

1. To explain what is distinct about Social Policy in understanding human welfare; and

2. To outline what you can expect from the rest of the book.

Starting your journey in the study of Social Policy

My discovery of Social Policy was unexpected. A brief comment by a tutor in college, who had convinced me to go to university, resulted in my purchasing Alcock’s (1996) text Social Policy in Britain. When I read it, I realised this was the subject I had been waiting for. At the time, I was discovering Sociology, Politics, Psychology, Law and a small amount of Economics, but it dawned on me that Social Policy was the main purpose of all of these endeavours. Without Social Policy, these are interesting subjects to study, but social policy is a potentially powerful tool for enabling significant change in the present and future for individuals and society. Social Policy means two related things: the field or subject of study, and the actual social policies developed to secure human welfare. For the sake of simplicity, I will capitalise the initial letters when referring to the first and use lower case for the second.

According to Titmuss (1971:22), the study of Social Policy is concerned primarily with:

1. The analysis and description of how policy is formulated and implemented, along with the consideration of intended and linked consequences;

2. The question of social needs and problems of access, use and outcomes of services;

3. An analysis of the distribution of resources and the impact these patterns have on services (focusing primarily on income, not only as the primary resource for securing welfare but also as an indicator of inequality); and

4. The study of social rights of citizens as participants in, users of and contributors to social services.

In other words, studying welfare requires considering not only the process of policy making and implementation but also how to determine what is provided, and to whom, at individual and societal levels. Points 2 and 4 above refer to the concepts of need, social rights and citizenship, which we will be explaining in much more depth in the course of this book. These concepts are wrapped up in broader theoretical and ideological debates about the pursuit (or not) of welfare. We will see how they get drawn into policy debates to generate particular rationales in support of particular policy mechanisms and welfare interventions.

The idea of rationale is an important one in thinking about concepts in relation to Social Policy. Levin (1997:32) states that, as the outcome of a rationale, a policy ‘is calculated to achieve certain aims, goals or objectives. It is the means adopted to bring about certain ends’, providing a framework through which means and ends are logically connected. How rationales are constructed depends on the use of concepts to articulate particular arguments about the nature of welfare, how welfare can be provided for and the circumstances in which citizens can access this provision. This book intends to help you to appreciate how these frameworks can be constructed, and to offer you the tools to critically review the arguments associated with welfare debates.

The unique contribution of Social Policy in the pursuit of welfare is not only the administration of welfare provision but also understanding the arguments for and against certain interventions, be they healthcare provision, anti-poverty income transfers or the development of a compulsory education system. My interest (and the goal of this book) is to explore, on the one hand, how concepts shape welfare interventions; and on the other, to reflect on how conceptual debates are instrumental in effecting change in contemporary society. I am reminded of Tawney’s (1921:1–2) introduction to The Acquisitive Society, in which he comments:

Most generations, it might be said, walk in a path which they neither make, nor discover, but accept; the main thing is that they should march. The blinkers worn by Englishmen enable them to trot all the more steadily along the beaten road, without being disturbed by curiosity as to their destination.

While the language is dated, the sentiment remains important for anyone studying the Social Sciences. We cannot uncritically accept the current path of social progress and its associated provision of welfare. We need to be aware of other possibilities, which may require we rethink the conceptual foundations of welfare provision in our society.

In my view, understanding concepts – the various definitions and debates, and their implications at social and economic levels – is essential to removing the blinkers. When you open your eyes to a wider range of possibilities, you can start questioning the path along which society is travelling. You can start considering alternatives. You have probably grown up surrounded by debates at home, at school and in the media about what the most urgent social problems are and what, if any, solutions are available. In a way, these debates can turn out to be blinkers, too, because they give a one-sided uncritical account of welfare and relevant social policy interventions required. Part of the task of this book is to help you reappraise your original viewpoints, start to appreciate the wider diversity of ideas available and engage in a more rounded and critical way with what the pursuit of human welfare means and requires.

My first ever lecture as an undergraduate in Social Policy started with two key questions:

1. What is good for society?

2. How is the good for society to be achieved?

The first question relates to the values that frame our perception of welfare. The second relates to how we deploy the available resources to design and deliver an appropriate welfare system (as we will examine in Chapters 4 and 5 in particular). Both questions remain fundamentally important for Social Policy – not only for those who study it but also for every citizen, as our subject matter impacts directly upon their lives. Bridging the answers of these two questions, you will find conceptual definitions and debates that you need to understand in their breadth and depth.

Concepts and Social Policy

Before we go any further, however, it is important to be clear what a concept is and how concepts relate to Social Policy. Let me use the analogy of tea (bear with me a moment). Now, there are multiple types of tea, each with distinct flavours, colours and aromas. When hearing the word ‘tea’, your mind will probably generate an image or idea of tea based on characteristics shared by all types of tea. This level of simplification allows you to consider tea without trying to capture the various nuances between the wide ranges of teas that exist. Even if we were to specify green tea, white tea and black tea, our minds still generalise a range of characteristics that allow us to understand the concept of tea. A concept, therefore, is a catch-all term for gathering together similar traits of a phenomenon, or idea, in a handy label; but this obscures the complexity under the surface. Similarly, terms such as citizenship or need are collective labels for often complex debates, which we’ll be able to explore in more depth later in this book.

Whether the focus is on poverty, homelessness, drug use, healthcare or higher education provision, concepts sit deep in the bedrock of debate and policy development. At times, policy documents, political speeches and other sources can be quite explicit in the concepts they draw on and how they are being defined. Often, however, their usage is implicit. As such, students need to keep a watchful eye on the debate, and ask critical questions about which concepts are guiding it and how these concepts are being defined.

As we shall see, there was no single impulse behind the formation of welfare provision. The state may be involved in the provision of cash and services in kind to enhance the health, autonomy and quality of life of citizens. Yet today, the term welfare is easily misunderstood, as illustrated in Figure 1.1. Often, the term is used in a ‘pejorative’ way; that is, to express contempt and disapproval for those who receive welfare. ‘Welfare’ has lost its connotation of being a positive aspect of our lives and our wider society. Instead of seeking to liberate people from impoverishment, ill health and illiteracy, it is now a tool for controlling supposedly unsavoury elements of our society.

Welfare is the foundation of this book, featuring in all its chapters, so I wish to briefly outline how I am using this concept. First, it is in relation to an endeavour, be it individual and/or societal. Welfare in this sense refers to the means by which we ensure citizens have a common humanity and set of needs, which must be secured if they are to live rich and fulfilling lives. The second way I use the term is as the end product of wider conceptual debates. Rather than provide a fixed definition of ‘welfare’, I am seeking to draw attention to how the term is defined is open to debate and changes over time. We understand this through considering the underpinning conceptual debates. Figure 1.1 illustrates these two ways in which welfare can be expressed, and how these different expressions can alter efforts to secure people’s welfare.

Figure 1.1: Meanings of welfare

On the one hand, the term welfare can be associated with the idea of a scrounger. This is clearly a pejorative way of using the concept. Saying someone is ‘on welfare’ seems to imply that they don’t or can’t take responsibility for themselves, and more than this: that there is something morally defective about not standing on one’s own two feet. A quick glance at any number of tabloid newspaper articles would illustrate this point. If social policy interventions were designed around this idea, the focus would be on correcting the perceived defect – possibly by encouraging people into employment as a way of ‘getting them off welfare’. Another assumption here might be that employment will improve their living conditions. Such interventions may require individuals to act or behave in particular ways. As such, welfare interventions would have a fairly overt control dynamic.

On the other hand, the right-hand branch of Figure 1.1 presents the concept of welfare as expressing an idea of flourishing. Framed in this way, the concept suggests that we need to support not simply survival but a notion of welfare that ensures all humans have the opportunity to live the lives they wish to and to reach their full potential. This would require a form of social policy that not only ensures that certain basic needs are met (food, shelter, water, clothing and so on) but also provides a much wider range of services (for example, education provision at various levels of study), alongside interventions that create a more equal and supportive socioeconomic context. As such, we can start to appreciate how our concept of welfare will not be static; it will shift and change. This also becomes important when we consider how Social Policy, as a discipline, is concerned with the success and failure of policy interventions to secure individual and societal welfare. As I have stated a few times, we need to explore concepts to understand this change. This is one of the key aims of this book, so let me explain how it will be done.

Book structure

To help readers engage with the material, each chapter title is posed as a question, the aim being to illustrate the range of debates and the complexity of finding an answer. This is designed to encourage you to think about what your answer to the question would be. Of course, there are no definitive answers, which will frustrate those of you looking for the right answer. However, it is important to understand the multiple, contradictory debates that inform a range of different social problems and policy responses more broadly.

Chapter 2, ‘What is welfare and why pursue it?’, focuses on the concepts that shape the subject: welfare and wellbeing. It explores how these can be defined, and illustrates that – as with all concepts – there is no one accepted definition. It considers how the notion of welfare has been used in justifications of welfare support, and links this to the debate around social and human rights.

Chapter 3, ‘Who receives welfare support, and for what?’, considers the entitlement triangle of need, equality and citizenship. It explores these three concepts to understand how to construct a concept of welfare, and whose welfare will be supported, through social policies.

Chapter 4, ‘Who should provide welfare support?’, considers how the nation state was formed, and with it the growing recognition of ideas of citizenship, social rights and social justice. It also explores what sectors are involved in the delivery of welfare services. This chapter concludes with a discussion of universalism as the gold standard of welfare provision.

Chapter 5, ‘Is universal provision sustainable?’, challenges the assumed ‘gold standard’ view of universalism. Intentionally different debates are drawn out, which highlight challenges to universal provision and a move towards more selective provision. Concepts such as means testing, conditionality and progressive universalism are all introduced here.

The next set of chapters seeks to broaden the analysis by drawing out different narratives of welfare provision.

Chapter 6 asks the question: ‘How does policy shape the experience of welfare support?’. In part, this chapter is an illustration of various policy narratives, demonstrating how debates about social problems can be constructed to identify deserving and undeserving people. It introduces the concept of stigma, but also the concept of the family. The family is essential for welfare provision; it is not only (arguably) the main source of welfare in our lives but also a unit of existence consisting of a range of social relations, which are shaped by social policy interventions. The family is fundamental in shaping our welfa...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of figures
• List of tables
• List of abbreviations
• Acknowledgements
• 1. Introduction
• 2. What is welfare and why pursue it?
• 3. Who receives welfare support, and for what?
• 4. Who should provide welfare support?
• 5. Is universal provision sustainable?
• 6. How does policy shape the experience of welfare support?
• 7. Is the welfare state always in crisis?
• 8. How does risk change the welfare state?
• 9. Is social policy about control?
• 10. Conclusion
• Bibliography