Return to a Wider Vision of Social Policy: Re-reading Theory and History

Abstract

The Welfare (State) Regime Paradigm is rife with paradoxes. In spite of the general awareness of the much wider remit of Social Policy (as a field of study and public policy), the paradigm has narrowed the focus of the field to a set of social protection instruments. This is most evident in the ‘decommodification’ index used in Esping-Andersen's original typology. Equally problematic is the idea of ‘decommodification’. The diminution of social policy finds its most ardent expression in the late 20th century neoliberal take on social policy, although for normative reasons that many Social Policy scholars would find objectionable. Reclaiming the wider vision of social policy requires re-reading history and the pioneers. It is against this background that we set out the idea of transformative social policy and the wider vision of Social Policy at the epistemic and policy levels. Central to this are the multiple tasks of social policy, the diversity of instruments for addressing the ‘social question’, and the inherent inter-connection between economic and social policies.

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