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 vii
... group worth - the ascribed failings of character that constitute deservingness - are softened through the ritu- als of the civil religion into the timeless virtues of American destiny . American social welfare policy is socially ...
... group worth - the ascribed failings of character that constitute deservingness - are softened through the ritu- als of the civil religion into the timeless virtues of American destiny . American social welfare policy is socially ...
Página viii
... groups and the good fortune justifies national braggadocio , as though greater equality was intended from the outset . Moreover , the immense centrifugal forces of this highly homogenized culture have rou- tinely undermined rational ...
... groups and the good fortune justifies national braggadocio , as though greater equality was intended from the outset . Moreover , the immense centrifugal forces of this highly homogenized culture have rou- tinely undermined rational ...
Página x
... groups . Political choice is mystical , largely unexplained except after the fact . Out of the immense complexity , variety , and possibilities of reality , some one thing is institutionalized and then seems to exert an independent ...
... groups . Political choice is mystical , largely unexplained except after the fact . Out of the immense complexity , variety , and possibilities of reality , some one thing is institutionalized and then seems to exert an independent ...
Página xiii
... the dominant ethos of the culture becomes even clearer in reference to care that is provided for marginal , poor , and lower - status groups . Along with some small degree of help , they invariably carry along Preface xiii.
... the dominant ethos of the culture becomes even clearer in reference to care that is provided for marginal , poor , and lower - status groups . Along with some small degree of help , they invariably carry along Preface xiii.
Página xvi
... groups and individuals in pursuit of their own subjective desires with only rare and incomplete attempts to objec- tively establish causality , program outcomes , and the effects of policy options . The struggle over limited resources ...
... groups and individuals in pursuit of their own subjective desires with only rare and incomplete attempts to objec- tively establish causality , program outcomes , and the effects of policy options . The struggle over limited resources ...
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