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. |
Dentro del libro
Resultados 1-5 de 36
Página viii
... incomes . Indeed , until the economic progress of recent years , about 40 percent of the population had been losing ... income at the top . As a result , the current range of policy options is narrow . The better way of doing its social ...
... incomes . Indeed , until the economic progress of recent years , about 40 percent of the population had been losing ... income at the top . As a result , the current range of policy options is narrow . The better way of doing its social ...
Página xiii
... income security programs targeted on the nonpoor are expressions of social values as much as public assistance personal social services for the poor . Yet the concrete benefits and the generally economic styles of analysis for cash ...
... income security programs targeted on the nonpoor are expressions of social values as much as public assistance personal social services for the poor . Yet the concrete benefits and the generally economic styles of analysis for cash ...
Página xv
... income security , it is not so very obvious that the programs are necessary to achieve their goals . Indeed , the Social Security program largely routinizes intrafamilial sharing in the form of intergenerational support while continuing ...
... income security , it is not so very obvious that the programs are necessary to achieve their goals . Indeed , the Social Security program largely routinizes intrafamilial sharing in the form of intergenerational support while continuing ...
Página 2
... Income ( SSI ) , Earned Income Tax Credit , and others —- accounted for only about 10 percent of federal outlays in 1996 ( Ways and Means Committee 1998 , 1354-55 ) . The federal government has the authority to regulate almost every ...
... Income ( SSI ) , Earned Income Tax Credit , and others —- accounted for only about 10 percent of federal outlays in 1996 ( Ways and Means Committee 1998 , 1354-55 ) . The federal government has the authority to regulate almost every ...
Página 3
... income inequality is very large and continues to grow . In 1998 , the mean family income of the lowest fifth was $ 7,828 ; the highest fifth , $ 97,181 ; and the top 5 percent , $ 171,613 . The top fifth earned 12.4 times as much as the ...
... income inequality is very large and continues to grow . In 1998 , the mean family income of the lowest fifth was $ 7,828 ; the highest fifth , $ 97,181 ; and the top 5 percent , $ 171,613 . The top fifth earned 12.4 times as much as the ...
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 | |
Otras ediciones - Ver todas
Términos y frases comunes
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