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Summary Social Policy & Social Risks
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Social Policy and Social RisksMaster Health Well-Being and Society
Linn Luijerink, 2061681
Index
Lectures ................................................................................................................................................... 2
Introduction, What is social policy? 25-10-2021 ................................................................................ 2
Seminar 1, Social Policy and Social Risks, 27-10-2021 ..................................................................... 4
Seminar 2, Why a welfare state? 1-11-2021 ....................................................................................... 8
Seminar 3, Theories of welfare state expansion, 8-11-2021 ............................................................. 13
Seminar 4, Universalism vs. selectivity in social policy, 19-11-2021 .............................................. 20
Seminar 5, Challenges and responses, 22-11-2021 ........................................................................... 23
Seminar 6, New policy paradigms, 29-11-2021 ................................................................................ 28
Lecture 7, Public opinion and welfare state reform, 6-12-2021 ........................................................ 37
Q-A session 1, 3-12-2021 .................................................................................................................. 41
Q-A session 2, 10-12-2021 ................................................................................................................ 44
Introduction video’s .............................................................................................................................. 48
Introduction week .............................................................................................................................. 48
Week 1............................................................................................................................................... 48
Week 2............................................................................................................................................... 49
Week 3............................................................................................................................................... 49
Week 4............................................................................................................................................... 50
Week 5............................................................................................................................................... 50
Practicum ............................................................................................................................................... 53
Practicum 1, Tim Laenen, 3-11-2021 ................................................................................................ 53
Practicum 2, Caroline Dewilde, 10-11-2021 ..................................................................................... 55
Practicum 3, Tim Laenen, 17-11-2021 .............................................................................................. 55
Practicum 5, Tim Laenen, 1-12-2021 ................................................................................................ 56
,Lectures
Introduction, What is social policy? 25-10-2021
Introduction lecture
Why this course?
1. Social policy = welfare state policy → basic level of welfare through redistribution of
income at level of the nations state, institutionalized social solidarity.
2. The institutional context in which the sociology of everything takes place.
3. Object of sociological analyses, who gets what and why? Why do welfare states change, and
how? Social change and welfare state legitimacy? Welfare state outcomes?
Sociological focus:
• Ideological principles on which actual social policies in different countries are based.
• Theories and general trends of welfare state transformation.
Learning goals:
1. Demonstrate understanding of the welfare state as welfare provider and institutionalized
system of social solidarity, including the ability to apply the differences between:
• ‘Solidarity’, ‘social solidarity’, and poor relief;
• Social insurance and social assistance;
• Motivations for (social) solidarity (e.g. equity, need, inequality);
• Universalism vs. selectivity.
2. Recognize that different historical origins have resulted in different coalition politics, welfare
state development, and outcomes (poverty and inequality);
3. Make learning goal 1 and 2 more specific by assessing how different ‘worlds of welfare’ are
associated with underlying ideological principles and motivations (need, equity, equality), on
the basis of which actual social policies and policy trade-offs in different countries can be
analyzed;
4. Reflect on how the responses to welfare state challenges (i.e. post-industrialization, economic
globalization, immigration) are ‘path-dependent’ on the institutional context;
5. Recognize new policy paradigms and comment on their likely impact on social solidarity,
welfare provision and distributional outcomes, welfare attitudes;
6. Analyze patterns of recent welfare state transformation on a particular social policy domain,
by actively using theories and concepts discussed in the literature, the seminars, and the
practicums.
Social policy and social risks
• What are social risks and what is social policy?
• Social policy = welfare state policy, ‘old’ social risks are ‘building blocks’ of welfare states,
e.g. unemployment, retirement, linked to rise of industrial capitalism in early nation-state.
• Lack of resources/income that is associated with common events that occur with some
sociological regularity, mostly through no ‘fault’ of the individual → socially ‘produced’
problems that require a collective solution (welfare state arrangements) to provide welfare.
From basis needs to modern conceptions of welfare
Welfare → refers to economic well-being, i.e. having sufficient resources to ensure ‘the good life’.
Welfare is thus not only determined by the fulfilment of physical needs (e.g. food, shelter), but also by
the realization of life chances (allowing one to achieve one’s full potential with personal autonomy),
and the ability to socially participate in society (=without shame).
Material well-being and its social aspects
Situations of poverty, hardship and extreme inequality can be considered a lack of welfare.
, The poor shall be taken to mean persons, families and groups of persons whose resources
(material, cultural and social) are so limited as to exclude them from the minimal acceptable
way of life in the Member States in which they live (European Council, 1984).
Welfare state research: disposable net household income less than 60% of median population income
(country-specific, equivalized).
Mixed economy of welfare across time and place
Welfare provides vary across time and space
• In pre-industrial times (-/+1750), there were many risks (war, famine), but they were not or
only weakly recognized as common public responsibility (markets, but no labour markets).
• Solidarity provided by families and local communities (tenants-landowners/estates, cottage
industry, guilds of artisans: self-help insurance of those who can).
• ‘Poor relief’ (social assistance) for beggars, landless workers, charity (catholic) or some form
of local/central administration (protestant: ‘work’ as a way to overcome poverty) (see Kahl,
2005):
• Poverty is the product of ‘indolence and vice’, individual failure.
• Poor relief is conditional: ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ poor / means-testing, ‘less
eligibility’, control strategy developed to serve collective interests of elites (see van
Leeuwen, 1994).
Calvinist countries: workhouses and poor houses: punish and exploit the poor.
Industrial capitalism (1700 – 1850)
• Social question: industrial mode of production leads to commodification of labour, mass
migration, concentration of urban poverty, slum dwelling, low wages.
• Unravelling of solidarity within families and local communities.
• Old and new elites come to recognize mass poverty as ‘socially produced’ risk.
• Unemployment recognized as caused by economic system, rather than ‘unwillingness’
to work.
• Wages are too low to live decent life (child labour).
• Poverty of wage-earners is related to family cycle.
• Bad living conditions compromise social stability and hamper economic development.
• New ‘class’ of industrial workers → friendly/mutual societies.
, • Nation-state building and rise of democracy: nation-state coordinates efforts of unions and
employers to build and expand new programs of social insurance protecting against social risk
of ‘incapacity to work’, why and how?
Perfect storm: once you give people social rights, they actually have a better life and more capacity to
mobilize for expansion. Competition between nation-states in terms of economic competitiveness, that
this costs simply costs money in terms of investing in the productive capacity and skills of the
workforce.
Welfare capitalism: stabilize mass consumption, smooth economic cycles, ensure economic
productivity.
Pillars of social policy
Collectivizing responsibility for the socially recognized risk of poverty.
Problem Key issues Welfare pillars
Want Insufficient income Social security (income
replacement/insurance) +
social assistance (poor relief)
Idleness Lack of employment Employment
Squalor Poor quality housing Housing
Ignorance Inadequate education Education
Unequal opportunities
Disease Limited access to health care, Health care
bad health
Social policy is equal to welfare state policy. It is not only about income, but also about social services
(for example education).
Welfare states are more in the Western countries. They provide a basic level of welfare. Institutional
context of social solidarity. The choices we make, the education we follow etc. depend on the
institutional context. There are different welfare state types. These are influenced by the historical
origins. Who gets what and why?
Challenges: globalization, ageing, social changes, etc.
Welfare state is a structure, as it goes back in time, difficult to change, but is does change because of
the challenges in the world.
Industrial capitalism, poverty associated with labour.
Seminar 1, Social Policy and Social Risks, 27-10-2021
Lecture video’s part 1
Origins and development of the welfare state: solidarity versus social solidarity.
Contrasting welfare arrangements in pre-industrial Europe versus modern welfare states. The nature of
our welfare state is complex to understand, so we have to compare it with the past. It finds it origins in
the past.
Nature of solidarity?
• Formal – informal solidarity → formal, goes through an intermediating institution. Informal,
is what we associated with family and civil society organisations.
• Two-sided – one-sided solidarity → horizontal and vertical redistribution, link with
redistributed principles of equity, need and equality. Two-sided, solidarity that goes two ways
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