Australian Social Policy

1
Australian Social Policy

• Lecture 2

2
Resources

• Social Resources are those elements of life, such
  as food, clothing and shelter that are required
  for basic living.
• Economic Resources are those elements that are
  required to function in the exchange of goods and
  services in the market place.

3
Resources

• Cultural Resources are those elements that are
  required to partake in the recreational,
  intellectual and moral activities of a society
• Civil Resources are those elements that are
  required to partake in the legal and political
  activities of society

4
Resources

• The four types of resources do not act in
  isolation.
• Control over certain economic resources may be
  the same process that leads to control over civil
  or cultural resources. Eg
• access to unemployment benefits may also give
  you access to training for employment.

5
Wellbeing

• Derives from concepts of resources and access
• Refers to not just the physical, emotional or
  psychological health of people, but also to their
  social, economic, cultural and civil prosperity
• The capacity of people to have access to
  resources that contribute to the fulfilment of
  their personal, social, economic, cultural and
  civil needs.
• Wellbeing comes from not only access to resources
  but also satisfaction of needs.

6
Wellbeing

• This may apply to
• personal matters eg health
• social concerns eg housing
• economic matters eg work or ownership of capital
• cultural issues eg recreation
• civil concerns. eg legal rights

7
Wellbeing

• All of these matters involve the satisfaction of
  some need and relate to access of resources.

8
Scope of social policy

• Social policy is an encompassing policy
  framework in which the wellbeing of citizens is
  central.
• Social Policy is about the re-distribution of
  resources
• There are redistributive effects of all policy
  areas that will in some way affect the wellbeing
  of citizens

9
Social Policy

• Social policy is a term often used loosely to
  include laws, regulations and written policy
  guidelines.
• Eg Unemployment policy.
• Legislation enshrined in law
• Australias unemployment policy is enshrined in
  law ie if you break the rules sanctions apply
  (breaching)

10
Legislation, Policy, Program

• Policy there are formalised written guidelines
  regarding eligibility and payment of unemployment
  benefits
• Program Centrelink is the program that
  administers payment of benefits and Jobsearch and
  Newstart programs. These programs follow clear
  guidelines for service delivery

11
Definitions of Terms

• Welfare State
• role is to reduce social inequalities in
  capitalist market societies
• (Jamrozik2005).
• The role of the state as a regulator of economic
  activities. John Maynard Keynes
• (Keynesian Economic Theory)

12
Definitions of Terms

• Post Welfare State
• Serves to legitimise capitalism by taking care
  and control of the human residue generated by
  the market economy. Ie the unemployed, poor
  families, people with disabilities, pensioners.

13
Definitions

• Absolute Poverty
• Lack of sufficient resources to provide for their
  daily requirements ie they have insufficient
  food, health care, clothing and shelter (Bryson
  1992).
• Relative Poverty
• Lack of resources necessary to permit
  participation in the activities, customs and
  diets commonly approved by society (Bryson 1992).

14
Definitions

• Need
• Maslows Hierarchy of Needs.
• 1. Basic need physiological wellbeing
• sustenance, sleep, shelter, warmth
• 2. Security
• 3. Love and belonging
• 4. Self esteem including respect for others and
  self

15
Definitions

• Maslows Hierarchy of Needs.
• 5. Self actualisation . The need to develop and
  realise ones potential and to do or be whatever
  one is capable of doing or being.
• Each need can only be satisfied once the previous
  need has been achieved.
• A Maslow (1954).

16
Definitions

• Civil and Political Rights are rights that are
  not transferable and their exercise by
  individuals does not affect the interests of
  other individuals. Eg voting, free speech,
  establishing political parties. Susie
  Creamcheese, Marijuana Party
• Social Rights imply distribution of and
  re-distribution of goods (such as income) among
  social groups therefore their exercise means
  distribution by the state, affecting the
  interests of social groups by changing their
  economic relationships (Klausen1995). Dole,
  pensions

17
Definitions

• Globalisation a complex set of social,
  economic, political and cultural processes
  which cut across national boundaries, increasing
  levels of inter-connectedness such that the world
  is connected as a single social space. (Holmes et
  al 2003).

18
Definitions

• Neo / Liberal Economic Theory Economic
  Rationalism.
• A form of economic reasoning which took hold in
  the 1980s and is based on the notion that the
  free market is a much better arbiter of economic
  and other matters than are governments eg
  privatisation.

19
Definitions

• Economic Rationalism sees itself as a science
  devoid, largely of social goals. The language and
  logic of economics dominates social policy and a
  corollary of such reasoning is a reduction in
  spending by the state on such things as
  education, health and social welfare and the
  delivery of the whole or parts of these services
  by the private sector. (Holmes et al 2003).

20
Definitions

• Social Democracy
• Social Welfare is a political concept and social
  rights are seen in the same perspective as civil
  and political rights.
• Claims to welfare provision are taken for
  granted as entitlements of citizenship.
• (Marshall2002).

21
Definitions

• Liberal Democracy
• Social Welfare is depoliticised, hence the social
  rights of citizenship have a different meaning.
  Most claims are related to needs which have to
  be demonstrated by the claimant. Furthermore the
  validity of the claim has to be accepted by the
  provider. (Marshall2002).

22
Definitions

• Liberal Democracy
• The validity is determined by certain
  bureaucratic criteria and in many instances, on
  the providers moral judgement of the claimants
  deservedness.
• (Jamrozik2005)
• Eg welfare to work policies

23
Difference between social economic policy

• Economic Policy is primarily concerned with
  dominance of the market and economic base of
  society and while important (to understand when
  looking at policy) doesnt generate a focus on
  the social questions, issues and effects of
  social policy.

24
Difference between Public Social Policy.

• Terms that some times appear interchangeable in
  the literature about social policy.
• Definitions from the literature
• Public policy is the interaction of values,
  interests and resources guided through
  institutions and mediated by politics (Davis et
  al. 199315)

25
Public Policy

• Public policy must to some degree have been
  generated or at least processed within a
  framework of government procedures, influences or
  organisations.
• (Hogwood Gunn 1991 24).
• Government is emphasised in both these
  definitions. The role of the people (the social)
  is emphasised and part of the analysis of social
  policy.

26
Next week

• History of social welfare
• Who can influence social policy
• Private troubles public issues
• Key actors in making public / social policy
• Social inequalities / social exclusion

27
(No Transcript)