Sociology Research and Comprehension Task

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QUESTION 1:

In her article, How welfare helped us get going' (The Age), Janet M'Calman puts emphasis on the welfare state and how it has helped families get back on their feet. At the close of her article, M'Calman mentions the term 'nanny state.' This expression suggests that the government must look after less fortunate people as a nanny looks after a dependant child, effectively branding those who make legitimate use of welfare benefits incompetent and futile. 'Nanny state' implies that the government is too lenient towards people who claim welfare benefits and that the apron stings must be cut in order to force impoverished people to alter their behaviour and survive in the world on their own.

The phrase 'the welfare state is the nanny state' would be inaccurate in M'Calman's view, as she regards welfare as an important aid to underprivileged people who are finding it difficult to survive in current social and economic conditions. M'Calman states that 'the welfare state has been derided as the nanny state.'1 She is saying that 'nanny state' is intended as a derogatory term used to ridicule the welfare state, whose job is to assist people who genuinely require financial assistance in order to better the quality of life for themselves and their children.

QUESTION 2:

The given readings put forward opposed points of view on the relationship between the 'underclass' and welfare. Robinson, Gregson (1992) and

Mead (1989) offer the suggestion that welfare benefits designed for the socially disadvantaged have actually 'fostered dependency,'2 and this effectively 'deters employment.'3 Fred Robinson and Nicky Gregson present both liberal and conservative points of view on the surfacing of an 'underclass,' and the underlying causes are. It is cited within their work that the 'underclass' is 'an undeserving sub-group of the poor, who couldn't, wouldn't (and even shouldn't) be helped.'4 Mead also gives evidence that the relationship between socially disadvantaged and welfare programs, is one based on dependency. It is argued within his article that 'welfare recipients are not very responsive to economic incentives'6 and prefer the convenience that government welfare programs offer. This is supported by the notion that 'the underclass were actually being trapped by welfare.'5

However, Hope (1995) and M'Calman (2000) oppose the idea of a welfare dependant 'underclass', instead favouring the idea that welfare helps families reach the road to social mobility by providing benefits to those who are truly struggling against adversity. Deborah Hope (1995) claims that welfare is a 'safety net [that] stops you dropping into oblivion,'7 implying that the socially disadvantaged use the welfare system as a way to avoid adversity. Hope theorizes that there is in fact no underclass in Australia and that welfare benefits do not

create dependency but rather 'an escape route from poverty.'8 Janet M'Calman's (2000) article also employs a similar argument, theorizing that the relationship between welfare and the poor is one based on relief. She encourages the welfare state not to give up this relationship, and continue to help 'suburban families rear their children, survive misfortune and move up the social scale.'9
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QUESTION 3:

a) Robinson and Gregson (1992) argue that 'the underclass concept is vague and its pedigree is disreputable.'10 This statement suggests that the perception of a so-called underclass is ambiguous and its history has a bad reputation. The article outlines where the 'underclass' concept originated, and why the term has such a bad repute.

b) According to their article, Gunnar Myrdal introduced the term in the early 1960's to 'describe those being marginalised and shut out of the labour market as a result of structural economic change.'11 It was first used in Britain to ...

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