Social policy refers to policies that govern the approach to questions or issues that arise relevant to well-being and living. Churches can have social policy (e.g., community food need policy, member income loss policy). NGOs (non-government aid organizations) can have social policy (e.g., fresh water acquisition policy). But most often, "social policy" refers to the policies set by governments for the management of questions and issues related to living and well-being among the...
Social policy refers to policies that govern the approach to questions or issues that arise relevant to well-being and living. Churches can have social policy (e.g., community food need policy, member income loss policy). NGOs (non-government aid organizations) can have social policy (e.g., fresh water acquisition policy). But most often, "social policy" refers to the policies set by governments for the management of questions and issues related to living and well-being among the populace, for example, in these fields and concerns:
- economic and labor development
- psychological health
- criminal justice
- drug trafficking and abuse
- pregnancy and abortion
- equality
- equal opportunity
- education
- fair and reliable housing
- health care
Postmodern critique refers to intellectual and philosophical analysis and criticism stemming from the postmodernist approach to understanding society, culture, history, government, politics and other aspects of contemporary sociopolitical cultural life. Postmodernism emphasizes, among other things, the collapse of society and its hierarchies; the threat posed by shifts in society to consumerism and away from intellectual development; post-colonial placelessness; disorientation, fragmentation and the rise of plurality power to supplant unitary power.
If postmodern critique (1) highlights the displacement of individuals through the forces of famine, war, climate change, or other global conditions in such a way as to engender discourse and voice for the rising plurality or (2) redresses (a) declines in universities' roles in building society or (b) increases in materialistic consumerism or (3) heightens the diffusion of human- and healthcare so as to blunt fragmentation and crisis, then it is possible to say that postmodern critique is useful for contemporary social policy. If, on the other hand, postmodern critique of contemporary social policy stops at pointing out sociopolitical contradictions and inconsistencies and the lack of clarity, then postmodern critique itself will be blunted by failing to ascertain meaningful answers to relevant social questions and issues and, consequently, will not be useful for critique of contemporary social policy.
No comments:
Post a Comment