American Policy Making: Welfare as RitualRowman & Littlefield, 2002 - 247 páginas American Policy Making will surely create controversy by challenging the prevailing ethos of humanitarianism. Epstein points to the perils of unrestricted subjectivity--the corruption of both social science and social discourse--and argues for a more disciplined approach to policy making. Rather than scientific theory and applied scientific practice, the social sciences have been appropriated to create ideology--corrective myths in support of social denial. The social sciences script fables of cure, prevention, and rehabilitation that falsely testify to the feasibility of inexpensive and culturally compatible solutions to deep social problems. Rather than providing effective service, social welfare programs are rituals of social values, expressing, proselytizing, reaffirming, and strengthening factional preferences. This is a uniquely unsentimental analysis of American social policy-making with great scope and depth, particularly in the personal social services, philosophic and historical dimensions. It is also a bold call to action to create more effective policies for social welfare. |
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Página viii
... appears to have accepted with little protest the increasing concentration of wealth and income at the top . As a result , the current range of policy options is narrow . The better way of doing its social business might involve a more ...
... appears to have accepted with little protest the increasing concentration of wealth and income at the top . As a result , the current range of policy options is narrow . The better way of doing its social business might involve a more ...
Página ix
... appear to be more comfortable than promised changes . Even from the narrower perspective of efficiency , the patience to try on welfare styles or even to test different welfare policies in micro- cosm is limited by cost and practicality ...
... appear to be more comfortable than promised changes . Even from the narrower perspective of efficiency , the patience to try on welfare styles or even to test different welfare policies in micro- cosm is limited by cost and practicality ...
Página x
... appear to be consistent with the nation's ceremonial religion or predictable extensions of standing social theory . Societal change appar- ently takes place , but aside from the bland observation that technological innovation is somehow ...
... appear to be consistent with the nation's ceremonial religion or predictable extensions of standing social theory . Societal change appar- ently takes place , but aside from the bland observation that technological innovation is somehow ...
Página 3
... Although the amount of money raised by the nonprofit sector appears huge ( $ 460 billion in 1996 ) , little of it is spent to address poverty or deprivation generally ; most is spent on hospitals , research , and education Introduction 3.
... Although the amount of money raised by the nonprofit sector appears huge ( $ 460 billion in 1996 ) , little of it is spent to address poverty or deprivation generally ; most is spent on hospitals , research , and education Introduction 3.
Página 7
... appearing to handle the effects of discrimination . Its inevitable inability to close the social and economic gaps between blacks and whites through employment and educational preferences creates smug evidence to support ascriptive ...
... appearing to handle the effects of discrimination . Its inevitable inability to close the social and economic gaps between blacks and whites through employment and educational preferences creates smug evidence to support ascriptive ...
Contenido
Political Theory Ideology and Social Welfare | 25 |
The Willow World of Virtue Rationality and Effectiveness in the Personal Social Services | 47 |
The American Ethos 1 Two Civil Religions | 91 |
The American Ethos 2 America SpeaksThe Pols and Policy Choice | 111 |
The American Ethos 3 Social Welfare Services as Rituals of the Civil Religion | 135 |
Two Romances The Enlightenment and the AntiEnlightenment | 151 |
Science Limited Science and Scientism | 193 |
Conclusion | 211 |
Afterword | 221 |
223 | |
237 | |
About the Author | |
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absolute idealism achieve actual American civil religion American social assumptions attitudes behavioral genetics belief benefits bounded rationality characterological citizens civic contemporary corrective myths created culture customarily defined democracy democratic economic effects elites empiricism ences Enlightenment environment ethos evaluation experience experimental explain failed failure faith foster foster care freedom frequently goals groups human ideals ideology income individual inequalities influence intellectual interventions justify largely ment methodological moral motives natural notably objective operative civil religion outcomes percent perhaps personal social services philosophes political polls poor popular poverty poverty line practice progress psychotherapy public assistance rational choice theory reality reform reported responsibility rituals role Romantic Romanticism satisficing scientifically credible scientism sense Shapiro simply Smith social choice social decision social efficiency social institutions social policy social problems social sciences social welfare policy social welfare provisions spontaneous order studies subcultural tion tradition United values workers