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 xiv
... and the preferences that endorse them . The purity of rituals increases as they address issues of poverty and personal deviance ; as the recipients of services become less compelling political actors , their xiv Preface.
... and the preferences that endorse them . The purity of rituals increases as they address issues of poverty and personal deviance ; as the recipients of services become less compelling political actors , their xiv Preface.
Página xv
Welfare as Ritual William M. Epstein. recipients of services become less compelling political actors , their bene- fits naturally decline , while the services tend to increasingly address the rules of the game and all that goes into ...
Welfare as Ritual William M. Epstein. recipients of services become less compelling political actors , their bene- fits naturally decline , while the services tend to increasingly address the rules of the game and all that goes into ...
Página xvi
... recipients are publicly degraded for their immorality each time they purchase food . Plan of the Book The introduction provides a backdrop to the crucial conflict between rationality and politics in social decision making . Chapter 1 ...
... recipients are publicly degraded for their immorality each time they purchase food . Plan of the Book The introduction provides a backdrop to the crucial conflict between rationality and politics in social decision making . Chapter 1 ...
Página 1
... recipients . As Handler argues " welfare policy ... is not addressed to the poor - it is addressed to us " ( 1995 , 8-9 ) ; the society at large , not the service recipients , is the true audience for the lessons of the social services ...
... recipients . As Handler argues " welfare policy ... is not addressed to the poor - it is addressed to us " ( 1995 , 8-9 ) ; the society at large , not the service recipients , is the true audience for the lessons of the social services ...
Página 7
... recipients , and care- fully monitor program activities . Moreover , evidence of bias in social research , the ability of researchers to confirm their programmatic precon- ceptions of effectiveness despite their ostensible commitments ...
... recipients , and care- fully monitor program activities . Moreover , evidence of bias in social research , the ability of researchers to confirm their programmatic precon- ceptions of effectiveness despite their ostensible commitments ...
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