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 xi
... faith that some unde- fined cultural determinant trumps reason . While modern American liberals claim lineage to the Enlightenment , their social programs far more closely parallel Romantic thought . Indeed , many continuing social ...
... faith that some unde- fined cultural determinant trumps reason . While modern American liberals claim lineage to the Enlightenment , their social programs far more closely parallel Romantic thought . Indeed , many continuing social ...
Página xii
... faith in full understanding pursued through factional research is inadequate . Understanding even as a necessarily limited or relative ideal still may require a degree of investment in information and greater equality that eclipses ...
... faith in full understanding pursued through factional research is inadequate . Understanding even as a necessarily limited or relative ideal still may require a degree of investment in information and greater equality that eclipses ...
Página xix
... faith . The absolute idealists seem to have had something to say although I mourn that many were inspired to action by their vapors . Through the portal of Emerson , the New World's first maven of spon- taneity , who probably never ...
... faith . The absolute idealists seem to have had something to say although I mourn that many were inspired to action by their vapors . Through the portal of Emerson , the New World's first maven of spon- taneity , who probably never ...
Página 16
... faith in civic virtue ( a financial martyrdom to its mission to save sinners ) than on the service recipients ' needs or actual sit- uations . In this catechism of civic virtue and vice , the agency's actual perform- ance in meeting its ...
... faith in civic virtue ( a financial martyrdom to its mission to save sinners ) than on the service recipients ' needs or actual sit- uations . In this catechism of civic virtue and vice , the agency's actual perform- ance in meeting its ...
Página 27
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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