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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Resultados 1-5 de 46
Página viii
... progress of recent years , about 40 percent of the population had been losing ground between 1973 and 1996 , while the next 20 or 30 percent have barely been keeping up . Yet the nation appears to have accepted with little protest the ...
... progress of recent years , about 40 percent of the population had been losing ground between 1973 and 1996 , while the next 20 or 30 percent have barely been keeping up . Yet the nation appears to have accepted with little protest the ...
Página xv
... progress that it is very difficult to separate the economic productivity of a business corpo- ration from its pursuit of political favor and public esteem . Both the mar- ket position and the political influence of a business reflect ...
... progress that it is very difficult to separate the economic productivity of a business corpo- ration from its pursuit of political favor and public esteem . Both the mar- ket position and the political influence of a business reflect ...
Página xvii
... progress through the application of reason . Implementation was left for succeed- ing centuries . Chapter 7 applies the romances of the American ideological legacy to the problem of providing credible information for social welfare ...
... progress through the application of reason . Implementation was left for succeed- ing centuries . Chapter 7 applies the romances of the American ideological legacy to the problem of providing credible information for social welfare ...
Página xviii
... progress . Note 1. The subdivision of human services has importance only to the extent that the different categories serve analytic purposes for the receipt of benefits , training of personnel , research , and so on . Different ...
... progress . Note 1. The subdivision of human services has importance only to the extent that the different categories serve analytic purposes for the receipt of benefits , training of personnel , research , and so on . Different ...
Página xix
... progress . It is delightful that they disagree with each other so fiercely . But for the recent growth of population , their infinite schools would contain only a seer , three reluctant students , a consort of negoti- ated gender , race ...
... progress . It is delightful that they disagree with each other so fiercely . But for the recent growth of population , their infinite schools would contain only a seer , three reluctant students , a consort of negoti- ated gender , race ...
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