Social Ideologies and Government Policies - Essay Example

CRIMINOLOGY QUESTION 3 Ideologies An ideology refers to a set of common beliefs that are shared by a particular group. An ideology influences the way of thinking of the members of the particular group, their code of conduct and how they go on about with their life. An ideology may be held by groups such as states, social class groups or a group based on educational status. There are different types of ideologies based on the group that holds them. There are political ideologies, economic ideologies, social ideologies, cultural ideologies and religious ideologies among others (Clarke, et. al, 2000). All of these ideologies have their impacts on all spheres of the society including thegovernment. In answering this question, I shall dwell on the area of social ideologies and how they influence the government policies. Socialist Ideologies Socialist ideologies stand for maximization of wealth and opportunities for all people through communal control and ownership of social services and industries. Socialism aims to reduce human suffering and promote equality and enhance quality of life for all people. Unlike capitalism which aims at private ownership and control of property; socialism believes that communal ownership and control of property is what the world needs for the benefit of everyone. Socialism came into being in the 19th century when the industrial revolution started (Caputo, 2011). How does the Socialist Ideologies Influence Government Policies? Over the years, socialism has had he impacts on government policies. While many have viewed socialists as anti-government forces, others believe that it is because of socialists that many people today are able to access basic social services. Socialists have fought for human rights and helped in the promotion of equality and inclusivity within the government. Social policies influence different areas of life such as education, health and social care. As a result, they also influence how the government formulates its policies (fried, et. al, 1992). In the 1980s, the Conservative Social Policies were very common in the UK. The Conservative Party introduced the New Right thinking in the UK under John Major. The party also showed special preference to the nuclear family. The party influenced the formation and enactment of the Child Support Agency and the Family Law Act in 1996. The Child Support Agency aimed at making sure that fathers provided child support even when they were no longer with the mother of their child (Bochel, 2008). Socialists believed that this would reduce suffrage for single mothers and that children would not lack anything despite not having a father around them. This benefitted the government as it reduced theamount of money the state paid to single mothers. The Family Law Act was enacted as a way of reducing the rate of divorce as socialists believed that marriages are meant to last forever (Haynes, 1970). Across the United States of America and parts of Europe, capitalism was very rampant before the 1st World War. Capitalism is a state where the society is divided into two categories; the bourgeoisie and the proletariats. The bourgeoisie are the owners of capitals and the means of production while the proletariats are labor providers. Karl Marx and Fredric Engels predicted a revolution which would result in the end of capitalism and the beginning of socialism in the society. Their prediction saw the emergence of socialist in the USA and Europe as they all tried to establish communal ownership of property and reducing human suffrage (Mullender, 2000). The rise of socialist ideologies brought forth the war against any form of discrimination. Instated, socialists aimed at promoting equality among all people. They fought against discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, gender, religion as well as against people with disabilities; mentally or physically. Socialists believed that all people are equal and that the government should work to ensure that this equality is promoted. This saw the rise of many unions which would push the government to enforce the demands of socialists (Segal, 2010). One such union was the feminists who stood to fight for women rights. Prior to the 1st World War, women were subordinates to men. The feminists stood to fight against discrimination of women at the workplace, in politics and in the family as well. This saw the 18h Amendment of the US Constitution which allowed women to vote. Before this Amendment, women had no say in the US politics and their role was restricted to child bearing and family care takers (O’Connell, et. al, 2003). The Amendment also gave women a chance to get an education, establish a career path and also participate in politics. There are also cases where the old people are discriminated against as they are viewed as a bother to those taking care of them. Most socialists have come out to complain against discrimination of the elderly and demand for their respect and fair treatment. The media has reported many instances of discrimination against the elderly across many care homes. In light of this, the UK government has stepped in to ensure that the anti-discriminatory law is implemented fully (Millam, 2002). The UK Equality Act of 2010 states that people should not be discriminated against on the basis of their age; especially when it comes to receiving social services and other public benefits that accrue to UK citizens (Millam, 2002). This anti-discriminatory policy serves to ensure fair treatment to all UK citizens. It stands against any harmful practice that might harm the old at any point in their lives. The elderly care homes have in particular been expected to adhere to this policy as they deal with the old people they are serving (Seperson, et. al, 2002). Socialists believe in the availability of social services to all people. Social amenities such as schools, hospitals, roads and affordable housing should be distributed equally to all people. All these amenities should also be of high quality so as to ensure that people do not suffer from accessing poor quality services such as health services. The socialists rose to demand for upgraded working settings, improved sanitation services in urban areas and relief for the poor and the homeless. Their demands were highly noted by the Congress and it took it upon itself to pass laws that would see to it that their demands were met (Haynes, 1970). The greatest achievement of the socialists in the USA was the New Deal Program that came into existence during the reign of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This program was meant to expand government services to reach the poor people in the society. Under this program, the homeless people would benefit from affordable housing which would be constructed by the government. They would receive monthly upkeep money to sustain them (Caputo, 2011). Consequently, the disabled would also receive stipends from the government as would single mothers. Socialist ideologies were stronger during the Great Depression in 1930 when life became unbearable for many people. The socialists in Canada called out for the federal government to step in and assist the citizens survive the tough economic time. On 14th August 1935, the Social Security Act was signed in to law with the approval of the Congress. The Social Security Act stated that the federal government would be from then henceforth be responsible for the provision of social welfare services throughout the country. It would be charged with ensuring that the welfare of all Canadian citizens was well taken care of and nobody suffered from lack of basic life necessities (Segal, 2010). The act also recognized a national contributing old-age retirement pension system for industrial and commercial workers. It also provided for life insurance and other benefits to the dependents of the workers on their demise. All these would be foreseen by the federal government. Since then, the federal government has played a big role in the alleviation of poverty and suffering among the Canadian citizens (Caputo, 2011). Conclusion Socialist ideologies are recognized for the contribution to the betterment of lives across the globe. The socialists believe that are human beings are equal therefore discrimination should be eliminated at all costs. They also stand for the availability of high quality social services and amenities to all people. Over the years, socialists have challenged the government to enact laws and policies that favor the common citizen. Despite all these, socialism is yet to completely eliminate capitalism in countries such as the USA. However, it is clear from the laws that have been passed under socialism duress that socialist ideologies are slowly taking over the world. Bibliography Bochel, C. 2008 “State Welfare”. In Alcock, P. et al. 2008. The Students Companion to Social Policy, 3rd Ed, Oxford: Blackwell. Caputo, R. K. (2011). U.S. social welfare reform: Policy transitions from 1981 to the present. New York: Springer Verlag. Clarke, J. et al. 2000. “Reinventing the Welfare State” in Clarke, J. et al. (2000) New Managerialism: New Welfare? London: Sage. Connell, J and Thomas, E. Karl Maerx and Michael Harrington: Two Law School Dropouts and What Happened Next, East and West. Journal of Law & Politics, 19. Fried, A. and Ronals, S. 1992. SocialistThought.NewYork:ColumbiaUniv.Press. Haynes, F, E. 1970.SocialPolitics in theUnitedStates. New York, NY: AMS Press. Millam, R. 2002. Anti-discriminatory practice. London, Continuum. Mullender,R.2000."TheorizingtheThirdWay:QualifiedConsequentialism,theProportionalityPrinciple,andtheNewSocialDemocracy."Journal of LawandSociety 27 (December). Segal, E. A. (2010). Social welfare policy and social programs: A values perspective. Australia: Thomson Brooks/Cole. Seperson, S. B. & Hegeman, C. R. (2002). Elder care and service learning a handbook. Westport, Conn, Auburn House. Read More