New Theories of Welfare

257 Pages·2005·7.341 MB·English

by  Tony Fitzpatrick

New Theories of Welfare
Also by Tony Fitzpatrick:
Freedom and Security: An Introduction to the Basic Income Debate*
Welfare Theory: An Introduction*
After the New Social Democracy
Environmental Issues and Social Welfare
Co-edited with Michael Cahill
Environment and Welfare*
Co-edited with Michael Cahill
* Also published by Palgrave
New Theories of Welfare
Tony Fitzpatrick
Consultant Editor: Jo Campling
© Tony Fitzpatrick 2005
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First published 2005 by
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ISBN 978-1-4039-0151-4 hardback
ISBN 978-1-4039-0152-1 ISBN 978-0-230-21221-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-0-230-21221-3
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Contents
Preface and Acknowledgements vii
List of Figures ix
Introduction x
1 Modern Conservatism Versus Social Democracy 1
Introduction 1
Modern Conservatism 2
Social Democracy 13
Conclusion 23
2 The New Radicalisms 25
Introduction 25
Egalitarianism 26
Discourse 38
Feminism 43
Concluding Thoughts 48
3 Agency, Community and Class 50
Introduction 50
Agency 50
Community 59
Class 66
Conclusion 71
4 Insecurities 73
Introduction 73
Accounting for Insecurity 74
The Need for Insecurity 78
Framing Social Policy 85
Concluding Remarks 92
v
vi Contents
5 Information and Society 94
Introduction 94
Information Society 95
Criticisms of Castells and Lash 98
Inclusion, Exclusion and Critical Theory 103
Info-Welfare Regimes 105
Education, Health and Social Technology 109
Conclusion 114
6 Genes and Environments 115
Introduction 115
Darwin vs. Darwin 116
For and Against Biotechnology 121
Social Policies and Genetics 127
Conclusion 135
7 Social Psychologies, Emotions, Bodies 136
Introduction 136
Social Psychology 136
Emotions 144
Bodies 150
Conclusion 157
8 Governance, Crime and Surveillance 158
Introduction 158
Governance 158
Crime 164
Surveillance 172
Conclusion 180
9 Culture and Media 181
Culture 181
Media 199
Concluding Thoughts 207
Conclusion 209
Notes 212
References 216
Index 237
Preface and
Acknowledgements
One of the greatest and most influential philosophers of the Twentieth
Century, Ludwig Wittgenstein, would sometimes advise his students to
abandon their studies in favour of something more useful – usually medicine,
a profession to which Wittgenstein was himself drawn. His motivation was
without malice. Wittgenstein sought to save intellects he admired from
drowning in a subject (philosophy) and an environment (academia) within
which he felt suffocated and from which he frequently tried to escape.
Between 1941 and 1943, for instance, he worked as a dispensary porter at
Guy’s Hospital, London. But others have preferred a less generous interpre-
tation. Karl Popper accused Wittgenstein of misreading the nature of philo-
sophy, seeing it as linguistic game of intellectual puzzles rather than as
something capable of offering insight into real moral and metaphysical prob-
lems. Popper was himself being somewhat misleading. Wittgenstein was
attempting to dislodge philosophy from the kind of hubristic pedestals con-
structed by those like his former mentor Bertrand Russell, without necessar-
ily reducing it to the status of a crossword puzzle. If we acknowledge
language as a rule- and convention-governed tool (immersed within a partic-
ular ‘way of life’) then we can perhaps distinguish real problems from
artificial ones.
Still, I wonder how often Wittgenstein considered other areas of philo-
sophical endeavour. Medicine may be vital, but a considerable amount of
research has shown that the effectiveness of doctors, nurses, drugs and
machines that go ping! depends enormously upon the socioeconomic envi-
ronment they inhabit. Wittgenstein’s stint at Guy’s occurred at a time when
the profession, and all the other UK public services, were about to experi-
ence what might be called a piecemeal revolution. The establishment of the
NHS was certainly inspired by a host of non-philosophical matters and yet,
amid the bombs, the wreckage and the daily horror, this was a time during
which social and political ideas were influencing social policies and public
reform to an extent that the UK has rarely witnessed since.
This book is not concerned with that historical anomaly. Instead, it is
another volume in my attempt to understand something of those ideas. In
developed countries social policy accounts for about half of government
vii
spending and a quarter of national wealth – sometimes more, sometimes less.
So when (if?) you vote 50% of what you are voting about is social policy. Yet
unless those services have a theoretical and, I will argue, ideological orienta-
tion then those votes become the equivalent of shouting into the wind. We
need porters, nurses, teachers, social workers, public administrators, etc. etc.,
but unless we possess some idea of what makes it all worthwhile then we are
stumbling around in the dark. This is why the subject continues to fascinate
me.
Many thanks to the referees and, as always, to Jo Campling.
viii
List of Figures
Figure 1 An Ideological Venn Diagram xiv
Figure 2.1 Examples of Basic Social Types 33
Figure 2.2 Equality and Priority 36
Figure 2.3 Equality and Priority Revisited 37
ix