Robert Pinker has written extensively on social policy matters since the early 1960s. His distinct approach to understanding concepts such as welfare pluralism is of particular relevance today as welfare pluralism remains an essential component of the policy mix, giving people access to a greater range and diversity of statutory, voluntary, and private sector services than unitary models of welfare provide.
Social Policy and Welfare Pluralism presents the first collection of Robert Pinker’s essays in one edited volume. It includes essays on the ways in which welfare theories and ideologies and public expectations have influenced and shaped the political processes of policy making. Other essays focus on clarifying some of the key concepts that underpin the study of social policy. Pinker also reviews the extent to which the United Kingdom has succeeded in creating a ‘policy mix’ in which normative compromises are negotiated between the claims of market individualism and public sector collectivism. The concluding chapter by Robert Pinker reviews the prospects for social policy in the UK over the next five years.
187 INTRODUCTION TO PART THREE On welfare pluralism John Offer One writer has described welfare pluralism as ‘a vital, but relatively neglected, part of social policy’ (Powell, 2007: 2). Pinker, however, did not neglect it. The third section explores some of the key arguments for pluralism in social policy in the UK which Pinker has highlighted since the 1980s. In this section in particular, space considerations have meant that it is a necessity that some of the many interesting essays by Pinker on pluralism have to be summarised here rather than
77 FIVE celebrating pluralism: beyond established forms of youth participation Lasse Siurala and Heini Turkia reintegrating citizens The emergence of populist parties in Europe may be a result of the inability of the established parties to articulate the interests of citizens. This reflects a broader lack of trust between government institutions and civil society, an increasing dissatisfaction of citizens in representative politics, politicians, established parties and elections, and ‘the feeling of helplessness and impotence in relation to government
In a time of great gloom and doom internationally and of major global problems, this book offers an invaluable contribution to our understanding of alternative societies that could be better for humans and the environment.
Bringing together a wide range of approaches and new strands of economic and social thinking from across the US, Mexico, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa, Luke Martell critically assesses contemporary alternatives and shows the ways forward with a convincing argument of pluralist socialism.
Presenting a much-needed introduction to the debate on alternatives to capitalism, this ambitious book is not about how things are, but how they can be!
Policy and Politics, Vol. II No.3 (1983), 247-271 ADMINISTRATIVE PLURALITY IN A UNITARY STATE: The analysis of public organisational pluralism Theo A. J. Toonen Introduction: background The institutional context of policy Policy and policy-analysis seem to be problematic mainly in federal sys- tems. This, at least, could be an impression from glancing over the titles of the numerous books and articles that appear on these subjects. In these titles the study of policy, policy-making or policy-implementation is often connected with 'federalism' or 'problems in
Once regarded as taboo, it is now claimed that we are a death-obsessed society. The face of death in the 21st century, brought about by cultural and demographic change and advances in medical technology, presents health and social care practitioners with new challenges and dilemmas.
By focusing on predominant patterns of dying; global images of death; shifting boundaries between the public and the private; and cultural pluralism, the author looks at the way death is handled in contemporary society and the sensitive ethical and practical dilemmas facing nurses, social workers, doctors and chaplains. This book brings together perspectives from social science, health-care and pastoral theology to assist the reader in understanding and negotiating this ‘new death’.
End-of-life care and old age, changing funeral and burial practices, new stigmas such as drug-related bereavements, are highlighted, and theories of dying and bereavement re-examined in their context. The concluding chapters incorporate recent case studies into an exploration of the meanings and shape of holistic and integrated care.
Students interested in death studies from a sociological and cultural viewpoint as well as health and social care practitioners, will benefit from its critical appraisal and application of the established knowledge base to contemporary practices and ethical debates.
UK austerity policies include anti-regulatory pressures to ‘free up’ private capital to produce wealth, employment and tax revenues. This topical book by a recognised scholar on the regulation of corporate crime and social harm considers the economic, political and social consequences of the economic crisis, the nature of social protection and the dynamics of the current crisis of regulation. It is unique in documenting how economic and social welfare are inconsistent with corporate freedom, and in an empirical and theoretical analysis of regulatory reform within the context of wide-scale social change.
Based on empirical research and with a focus on environmental, food, and workplace safety, it considers how we reached the current crisis of anti-regulation and how we might overcome it. The author proposes radically rethinking ‘regulation’ to address conceptual, policy and practical issues, making the book essential reading for those interested in this important topic.
The European Union (EU) is often portrayed as sacrificing national diversity for European unity. This book explores the alternative of a flexible EU based on differentiated rather than uniform integration.
The authors combine normative theory with empirical research on political party actors to assess the desirability and political acceptability of differentiated integration as a means of accommodating heterogeneity in the EU. They examine the circumstances and institutional design needed for flexibility to promote rather than undermine fairness and democracy within and between member states.
Clear, balanced, and accessible, the book provides fresh thinking on the future of the EU.
This book examines the challenges in delivering a participatory planning agenda in the face of an increasingly neoliberalised planning system and charts the experience of Planning Aid England.
In an age of austerity, government spending cuts, privatisation and rising inequalities, the need to support and include the most vulnerable in society is more acute than ever. However, forms of Advocacy Planning, the progressive concept championed for this purpose since the 1960s, is under threat from neoliberalisation.
Rather than abandoning advocacy, the book asserts that only through sustained critical engagement will issues of exclusion be positively tackled and addressed. The authors propose neo-advocacy planning as the critical lens through which to effect positive change. This, they argue, will need to draw on a co-production model maintained through a well-resourced special purpose organisation set up to mobilise and resource planning intermediaries whose role it is to activate, support and educate those without the resources to secure such advocacy themselves.
Featuring a substantial new introduction and two new chapters in the Postscript, this new edition makes one of the most significant works on power available in paperback and online for the first time. The author extensively engages with a body of new literature to elucidate and expand upon the original work, using rational choice theory to provide:
• An examination of how, due to the collective action problem, groups can be powerless despite not facing any resistance
• Timely engagement with feminist accounts of power
• An explanation of the relationship of structure and agency and how to measure power comparatively across societies
This book’s unique interaction with both classical and contemporary debates makes it an essential resource for anyone teaching or studying power in the disciplines of sociology, philosophy, politics or international relations.
