Sociology and Social policy (33)
Social policy is the actions, plans and programmes of government bodies and agencies aim to deal with problems or achieve a goal.e.g preventing crime and reducing poverty. Sociologists findings may sometimes influence social policies but many other factors also play a part, such as political ideologies and the availability of resources. This essay will assess the relationship between sociology and social policy.
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It can be argue that social policies are one of the most applicable ways in which sociology finds its imperative uses. - many sociologists argue that sociology should be used to solve sociological problems (Peter Worsley “ a behaviour in which causes private misery or calls for collective actionto solve it”) This therefore means sociology can and should be used to investigate patterns of these behaviours and ways in which it can be resolved.
The relationship between sociology and social policy according to Functionalists and Positivistssuch as Comte and Durkheim is that a rigorous objective and scientific approach should be used - In order to generate social facts which can be used by the government to develop patterns of behaviour - help implement policies that benefit the whole of society. Positivists and Functionalists adopt a positive relationship between sociology and social policy.
Marxists and Feminists adopt a negative, conflicting view between sociologists and social policy. Marxists, the role of social policy is to give capitalism a “face” that appears to care for the young,poor, and elderly. - masks the legitimacy of the ruling class ideology and ensures the working class are kept physically able to continue in maintaining the capitalist means of production.