1. social policy: refers to the plans and actions of state agencies, such as health and social services, the welfare benefits system, schools and other public bodies.
2. functionalists: see family as built on harmony and consensus (shared values), and free from major conflicts.
2.1. They see the state as acting in the interests of society as a whole and its social policies as being for the good of all.
2.1.1. Fletcher (1966) argues that the introduction of health, education and housing policies in the years since the industrial revolution has gradually led to the development of a welfare state that supports the family in performing its functions more effectively.
2.1.1.1. e.g. The NHS means families can take better care of their family members when they are sick.
2.2. functionalists have been criticised on two main counts: 1. It assumes all members of the family benefit equally from social policies. 2. It assumes that there is a 'march of progress' with social policies steadily making family life better.
3. Donzelot (1977) : policing the family- has a view of society and sees policy as a form of state power and control over families.
3.1. rejects functionalists' march of progress view that social policy and the professionals who carry it out have created a better, freer and more humane society.
3.2. He focuses on professionals such as doctors, and social workers as exercising power over their clients by using their expert knowledge to turn them into 'cases' to be dealt with.
4. The New Right: are strongly in favour of the conventional or 'traditional' nuclear family, based on a married, heterosexual couple, with a division of labour between a male provider and a female homemaker.
4.1. In their view, the changes that have been made have lead to greater family diversity, such as divorce , cohabitation and same sex relationships.
4.2. For the new right, state policies have encouraged these changes and helped to undermine the nuclear family.
4.2.1. for example, Almond (2006) argues that: 1. laws making divorce easier undermine the idea of marriage as a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman. 2. The introduction of same sex marriages sends out the message that the state no longer sees heterosexual marriage as superior domestic set ups. 3. Tax laws discriminate against conventional families with a sole breadwinner.
4.2.2. The new right also point out increased rights for unmarried cohabitants, such as adoption rights and succession to council house tenancies and pension rights when a partner dies, begin o make cohabitation and marriage more similar.
5. The New Right argue that the solution is that policies need to be changed, with cuts in welfare spending and tighter restrictions on who is eligible for benefits.
6. policies supporting the patriarchal family: tax and benefits policies, childcare and caring for the sick and the elderly.
7. cross cultural examples from different societies and historical periods can show us some of the more extreme ways in which state policies can affect the family.
7.1. for example; china's one child policy.
7.2. where they families can only have one child because of the large population, there are consequences for not following this law.
7.3. punishments include; huge fines up to 4X the family's annual earning.
8. Charles Murray (1984)- critical of the welfare policy. In their view, providing 'generous' welfare benefits undermines the conventional nuclear family and encourages more deviant and dysfunctional family types that destroy society.
8.1. Murray argues that these welfare benefits offer 'perverse incentives' - these are rewards for irresponsible or anti-sociable behaviour.
8.1.1. e.g. providing council housing for unmarried teenage mothers encourages young girls to become pregnant.
9. Feminists- take a conflict view. They see society as male dominate, benefitting men at women's expense.
9.1. self-fulfilling prophecy- the effect of the policies is often to reinforce that particular type of family at the expense of other types, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.
10. gender regimes
10.1. familistic- where policies are based on a traditional gender division between male breadwinner and female home maker.
10.2. individualistic- where policies are based on the belief that husbands and wives should be treated the same.
10.2.1. wives are not assumed to be financially dependant on their husbands, so each partner has a separate entitlement to state benefits.