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
... tion and a meager security even for those who have worked for decades . The principal role of the social services is performed in affirming Ameri- can values . These values are neither generous nor notably humane ; they endorse the ...
... tion and a meager security even for those who have worked for decades . The principal role of the social services is performed in affirming Ameri- can values . These values are neither generous nor notably humane ; they endorse the ...
Página x
... tion of the political will to acknowledge a problem . In this case the prob- lem is not simply the deprivations of many citizens but the absence of social institutions sensitive to their needs and a misguided set of political priorities ...
... tion of the political will to acknowledge a problem . In this case the prob- lem is not simply the deprivations of many citizens but the absence of social institutions sensitive to their needs and a misguided set of political priorities ...
Página xiii
... tion and imprudent willfulness . Publicly financed 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 ...
... tion and imprudent willfulness . Publicly financed 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 ...
Página 5
... tion of the society's effective political voices and the assessment of its members . Policy is power rather than truth or even dispassionate , con- sidered estimates of need . Rationality and Method If social need is to be defined ...
... tion of the society's effective political voices and the assessment of its members . Policy is power rather than truth or even dispassionate , con- sidered estimates of need . Rationality and Method If social need is to be defined ...
Página 13
... tion function in addressing social problems . The mood of a scientific community is incompatible with ideology . Sci- entific theory is modest , democratic ( at least within the community of sci- entists ) , deferential to objective ...
... tion function in addressing social problems . The mood of a scientific community is incompatible with ideology . Sci- entific theory is modest , democratic ( at least within the community of sci- entists ) , deferential to objective ...
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