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Showing papers in "Critical Social Policy in 1984"


Journal ArticleDOI

284 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The fall of Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza in July 1979 could not have been achieved without the mass urban insurrections which brought the capital, Managua, and other key cities under the increasing control of the revolutionary forces.
Abstract: The fall of Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza in July 1979 could not have been achieved without the mass urban insurrections which brought the capital, Managua, and other key cities under the increasing control of the revolutionary forces. This was the culmination of a process of growing popular opposition characterised by the incorporation of a wide cross-section of the population into political activity.

194 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
Michael Oliver1
TL;DR: In this paper, the influence of the economy on the material circumstances of disabled people and some of the reasons why a politics of disability has now become possible is discussed, and some ways forward in the construction of a truly socialist policy relevant to mecting the needs of dis abled people is considered.
Abstract: This paper briefly considers the influence of the economy on the material circumstances of disabled people and some of the reasons why a politics of disability has now become possible. It goes on to consider the role of dis ability organisations in relation to the state and in the articulation of the political demands of disabled people. Finally some ways forward in the construction of a truly socialist policy relevant to mecting the needs of dis abled people is considered.

121 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Community policing has its origins in the various schemes developed by the pubic as discussed by the authors, and community policing should be seen in the context of the community, rather than in the policing itself.
Abstract: Community policing has its origins in the various schemes developed by the pubic. Rather community policing iust be seen in the context of the

48 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The definition of the term "homelessness" has been a hot topic in the literature for decades as discussed by the authors and there has been remarkably little consensus among policy makers, researchers, local authorities and voluntary housing organisations as to how to define the term.
Abstract: itions of homelessness shift according to the structure of the household in question and that notions of homelessness tend to be family centred with particular implications for single people and single women specifically any explanation of its cause. Since I am concerned with the lack of wideexplanations of why homelessness is largely ignored. There has been remarkably little consensus among policy makers, researchers, local authorities and voluntary housing organisations as to how to define the term ’homelessness’. Only a minority of writers in the field (Greve, 1971; Brandon, 1974) have raised the issue; the majority have presented a definition with no theoretical explanation, or assumed a meaning for the term, without giving any definition at all. As Brandon wrote in 1974, ’How can the researcher begin to define it ... writers have used it in almost every conceivable way from meaning complete shelterlessness to simply having serious accommodation difficulties, from no fixed abode to living in a hostel or lodging house’. (p5) One of the major problems with the concept of homelessness is the notion of a ’home’. A ’house’ is generally taken to be synonymous with a dwelling or a physical structure, whereas a ’home’ is not. A ’home’ implies a set of social relations, or a set of activities within a physical structure, whereas a ’house’ does not. The home as a social concept is strongly linked with a notion of family the parental home, the marital home, the ancestral home. The word ’home’ conjures up such images as personal warmth, comfort, stability and security, it carries a meaning beyond the simple notion of shelter. It is interesting to consider the occasions when ’home’ rather than ’house’ is chosen as more appropriate to a particular ideology. Looking at politicians’ statements on owner-occupation, from both the Labour and Conservative parties, it becomes clear that the choice of words is not arbitrary. For example: ’for most people owning one’s own home is a basic and natural

37 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In less than five years, racism awareness training (RAT) has established itself the reputation of being the crucial and most practical initial step against personnal and institutional racism.
Abstract: In less than five years, racism awareness training (RAT) has established itself the reputation of being the crucial and most practical initial step against personnal and institutional racism. In this discussion, I wish to examine its assumptions, stategy and action and to register my doubts about its success. Furthermore, I shall suggest that RAT can have dibious side-effects which somewhat divert people from taking positive action.

33 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that too often, those who write about women and education have concerned themselves with how well or how badly, women achieve in comparison with men in a men's world, and not too much with how men's education affects women: still less with what can be done about it.
Abstract: All too often, those who write about women and education have concerned themselves with how well, or how badly, women achieve in comparison with men in a men’s world, and not too much with how men’s education affects women: still less with what can be done about it. Prescriptions for the future have been dominated by suggestions as to ways in which women may better compete, rather than how education can better serve the needs of women. If only for taking a different line than this, Thompson’s book would have been welcome, but it is also an excellently written text. Jane Thompson’s contention is that,

31 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: For the Childrerr's Sake: Making Child Care More Than Women's Business as mentioned in this paper is a seminal work in the field of women's empowerment and women's mental health.
Abstract: FAMILY AND SOCIAL POLICY Motherhood, although often disguised in talk of the family, parenthood, home or child care, is at the heart of much contemporary social and political discussion. Its nature is usually taken as given a deeply held assumption of the right and proper way of bringing up children. But changes in the current nature of family life increases in one-parent families, ’working mothers’, ’teenage mothers’ provoke contradictory proposals for changes in the activities and responsibilities of motherhood. For some, especially those who call themselves ’pro-family’, (eg New Right political pressure groups) such demographic and economic trends invite demands for their reversal by specific preventive policies such as education for family life, parent education or the creation of family centres. For others, (eg Rights of Women or NCCL’s * Paper originally prepared for the Girl Friendly Conference held at Manchester Polytechnic, Faculty of Educational Studies, Sepiember l-13th, 1984. The paper comes out of a much larger study, with Caroline New, which is to be published by Penguin, in Spring 1985, entitled For the Childrerr’s Sake: Making Child Care More Than Women’s Business. I would like to thank Sandy Acker, David Bull, Jen Dale, Gill Hague, Norman Ginsburg, Ann Manicom, Roy Parker, Hilary Rose, David Watson, Fiona Williams, Gaby Weiner for helpful comments on a previous draft of the paper.

24 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Cheetham et al. as discussed by the authors discuss the ways in which black social workers aid the smooth reproduction of racism in social services departments, and whether they can be a key element in the development of anti-racist strategies and practices.
Abstract: sideration of the ways in which black social workers Although the study of social work intervention in the black community has been something of a growth area, the literature has, on the whole, been guilty of two critical omissions. Firstly, it has failed to utilise the concept of racism as a central theoretical category, and secondly, it has failed to address pertinent issues in the functioning of social services departments.* This article, organised around a discussion of the implementation of policies for the employment of black social workers, seeks to address these omissions by posing a number of questions about the reproduction of racism in social services departments. The main question concerns how far black social workers aid the smooth reproduction of racism, or whether they can be a key element in the development of anti-racist strategies and practices. The suggestion is that this is a theoretically and empirically open question. The article seeks to address these issues on the basis’of research carried out between October 1983 and April 1984 in connection with a PhD research project, in the social services departments of two Inner London boroughs which I shall term ’Ayeborough’ and ’Beeborough’. The text includes quotes gathered from taped interviews * See Cheetham et al (eds.) 1981 and Cheetham (ed) 1982 as the two most influential readers; for more critical analyses, see McCulloch and Kornreich 1974, Husband 1980a and 1980b, and ABSWAP 1983.

21 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the place of imprisonment in today's penal system in England and Wales, and conclude that the innovations of the decarceration are This paper represents the first part of a research project aimed at understanding contemporary patterns of imprisonment and evaluating the places of imprisonment, and it is particularly urgent in view of the prominence of 'law and order' issues in British politics.
Abstract: The publications of Andrew Scudl’s research on ’decarceration’ promoted a widespread debate on the impact and desirability of community based treatment policies. In this paper, however, we shall query the extent of the within the penal system, but that the very opposite happened in practice. The paper concludes that the innovations of the decarceration are This paper represents the first part of a research project aimed at understanding contemporary patterns of imprisonment and evaluating the place of imprisonment in today’s penal system in England and Wales. Such a task is particularly urgent in view of the prominence of ’law and order’ issues in British politics. Amongst the most important of these are: (1) calls by the Tory law and order lobby and the popular press for long prison sentences ‘life to mean life, or at least twenty years’ for certain categories of offenders; (2) the removal of the chance of parole for some prisoners; (3) the introduction of more varied custodial sentencing options for young offenders in the 1982 Criminal Justice Act; (4) the expansion in the prison building programme under which 14 new prisons are to be built. These various factors indicate the much harsher moral-political climate facing offenders. If the persistence of imprisonment as a dominant form of punishment, at a time when professional and legislative opinion appeared to be in favour of reducing the institutional treatment of deviant populations to a minimum, is not adequately understood, then those of us committed to the desirability of restricting and ultimately abolishing prisons and other custodial institutions are likely to have little success. The starting-point for monitoring and hopefully restraining the use of custody in what seems to be an era of renewed belief in incarceration, is thus an examination of the use of imprisonment and allied forms of coercive detention in the so-called ’decarceration’ era.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: No non-sexist version of community care seems possible, but Finch believes it possible to envisage forms of residential provision which do not, ’violate the relational aspects of caring, nor individual autonomy and identity, and would actually be popular with those for whom it was provided’.
Abstract: are possible she raises an important question. In answering it, she analyses community care in terms of what is done and where it is done. Her initial conclusions are firstly, that what is done, ie ’caring’, ’Will remain women’s work for the foreseeable future, for both economic and ideological reasons. ’(2) Secondly, where it is done ‘the community’, is not just ’women’s space, but it must necessarily be so’. Following Wilson, she sees community ’as fundamentally a gendered concept’, at least ’as it is utilized’ by those who define community in terms of ’networks’. From this she concludes, ’no non-sexist version of community care seems possible.’~3> This creates a problem for Finch because she is unwilling forthrightly to recommend shunting dependent people into institutions as they have existed historically. The work of Hilary Graham and Clare Ungerson opens up to Finch the complexities of caring and the fact that ’caring means caring about as well as for in our culture’. (4) However, she believes it possible to envisage forms of residential provision which do not, ’violate the relational aspects of caring, nor individual autonomy and identity, and would actually be popular with those for whom it was provided’. (5) She provides


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a study of women's reactions to the threat and reality of male violence and the impact it has on their lives was carried out in Wandsworth, London.
Abstract: We are concerned with women’s reactions to the threat and reality of male violence and the impact it has on their lives. Another area of concern is the police response to violence against women as experienced by these women. The study is now coming to the end of its pilot phase. The early work was situated in Balham, it is intended to extend the study into other areas of Wandsworth now that the GLC has provided additional funding. In planning the study, we were very careful, because we are aware of the ways in which women’s experiences are discredited, trivialised or ignored, particularly if they are seen to threaten men, like discussions of male violence. So we took care to adopt a method of working by which our results could not be dismissed as ’atypical’ or ’non representative’ . This consideration lay behind our decision to base the study on a door to door interview method, rather than ask for volunteers or use informal networks of communication, as any self ng group of women could be dismissed as atypical. We started in Balham as we think it is typical of London’s inner city areas, and we hope that the five streets selected are representative of Balham as a whole. In the pilot study we interviewed 60, who ranged in age from 16 years

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the impact of a major social movement on the public (social) policy process is discussed and the authors argue that the major successes were not because of (male) support but because of the political moment.
Abstract: came out of left and trade union politics, such as the veteran campaigner Esther Peterson. Others were politicized and dramatically radicalized through their early lobbying activities that could have been so dispiriting. For example, Arvonne Fraser, wife of a Congressman moved from modest efforts to radical tactics swiftly as a result of the obstacles she encountered to her apparently mild policy proposals. Left politics, especially trade union politics in the US, is not the hallmark of feminist politics. Marguerite Rawalt demonstrates the difficult passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and lists the early opposition. Much of it consisted of trades unions of female workers -the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union, Hotel and Restaurant Employees and Bartenders Union. Yet five years into the period of ratification and many had been won over. But such a victory was insufficient given the rapidly changing political environment. Nevertheless, the National Federation of Republican (my emphasis) Women remained staunchly supportive. Many of the authors argue that the major successes were not because of (male) support but because of the political moment. Most achievements were in the postWatergate lull, with ’liberal’ Republicans as well as Democrats providing the crucial votes. They show, sadly, how many attempts at reversals there have been since the rise of the New Right-although they are a bit sanguine about the effectiveness of such challenges to the feminist gains. It seems to me that this is a most important book. It shows just how much can be achieved by the most inexperienced and naive of political campaigners. It is important for the study of the impact of a major social movement on the public (social) policy process. For feminists it is vital to keep central that such lobbying is possible, effective and provides a chink in the armour of male politics. It sets us on the road to a better and more equitable if not more equal society. And in the present climate we should be grateful for such small, yet significant gains. The American story also illustrates how difficult it is for the right to reverse what has become acceptable convention. If nothing else, American feminists have put male right-wing politicians on the defensive. They set us all an example of how much can be achieved within contemporary society.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, several different models of the Soviet mode of production are examined against the development of social policy, in an attempt in throw some light ar current disugreements about he current situation the USSR.
Abstract: empirical guide to the pattern of consumption, and as a theoretical guide impirical guide to the pattern of consumotion, and as a theoretical guide to the relations of production and reproduction now developing. Several different models of the Soviet mode of production are examined against the development of social policy, in an attempt in throw some light ar current disugreements about he current situation the USSR

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In Critical Social Policy No 8 (Autumn 1983) we published an extended, controversial review by Jock Young of The Empire Strikes Back: Race & Racism in 70s Britain (ESB) written by the Race and Politics Group at the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at Birmingham University as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: In Critical Social Policy No 8 (Autumn 1983) we published an extended, controversial review by Jock Young of The Empire Strikes Back: Race & Racism in 70s Britain (ESB) written by the Race and Politics Group at the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at Birmingham University. The review aggressively and destructively dismissed the book’s analysis of complex issues such as the relation between race, gender and class, policing the inner city, Afro-Caribbean culture in Britain. It was the kind of review which is all too common; it distorted, caricatured and ignored much of the book and concentrated on airing the reviewer’s prejudices on some of the issues. Some of the CSP collective were very unhappy about publishing the review without comment. We hoped, naively and rather in the style of Pilate, that it would elicit a strong response from readers, which has not happened, with the exception of a mild riposte from Richard Johnson in CSP 9. This response is prompted now by reading What is to be done about Law and

Journal ArticleDOI
David Smith1
TL;DR: The authors criticises Taylor's Law and Order : Arguments for Socisum proposed lines of advance are somewhat irrelevant to the context in which In this paper I wish to outline some of the problems involved in constructing a socialist position on the 'law and order' issue in Britain.
Abstract: This paper criticises Ian Taylor Law and Order : Arguments for Socisum proposed lines of advance are somewhat irrelevant to the context in which In this paper I wish to outline some of the problems involved in constructing a socialist position on the ’law and order’ issue in Britain. This will involve I critique of some recent work in this area, a summary of what seems to be the crucial problems to be faced in the context of present penal policy, and suggestions of possible lines of action for socialists and radicals which take this context into account. Some sections of the left have recently begun to engage seriously with the problem of constructing a penal policy which differs from that of the Conservative Party, and have acknowledged that socialists have recently tended to neglect this problematic area, or at least have not analysed it in any detail. For example, the Labour Campaign for Criminal Jusice has recently produced proposals for the reform of juvenile justice; and David Downes’s Fabian Society pamphlet Law and Order: Theft of an Issue has appeared, with the enthusiastic endorsement of Roy Hattersley. From a different (Bennite) position there is Ian Taylor’s Law and Order: Arguments for Socialism, which shares with Downes and Hattersley an interest in making ’law and order’ an election issue which works to the benefit of Labour rather than (as has recently seemed inevitable) the Conservatives. Taylor’s work seems to me to raise a number of difficulties which deserve analysis; some of these stem from his interest in arguing with the Conservatives on their own ground and with their own assumptions, but I would argue that the question is important for socialists beyond this immediate electoral concern. A number of writers have recently recognised that the formulations of socialists penal policy in the work of the ’critical criminologists’ of the early 1970s characteristically lacked ’a certain concreteness’ (Cohen, 1979); the task of supplying this deficiency has become urgent. * I have benefited from discussions with Harry Blagg and Peter Raynor, and from advice from the CSP Editorial collective.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the effect of the new legislation on the behaviour and control of the police themselves is examined, and the relationship between these reformed powers and recent developments in police managerial strategies is questioned.
Abstract: are strongly of the opinion that the sacrifice of liberties will in no way better enable the police to ’cope with crime’, but that the introduction of the new police powers, as can already be seen from the experience north of the border, will actually be counter-productive. In this comment on the new Act we shall therefore restrict ourselves to the effect of the new legislation on the behaviour and control of the police themselves. In the latter part of the essay we look at the steps being taken by senior police managers and planners to establish centralised direction and control within police forces and at how this is likely to combine with the new provisions. Firstly, however, we shall examine a wider issue: how do legal rules generally (and thus changes in them) affect the way police officers work? Secondly, we shall look at the immediate effect of the Act on the police themselves and at the particular nature of the changes made. Finally, we shall question the relationship between these reformed powers and recent developments in police managerial strategies.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors regret the decision to publish Jock's review of ESB, arguing that naivety is not necessarily racism, and it is to do political argument a disservice to suggest it is.
Abstract: to write a reply. When eventually the review editor was able to persuade a number of potential respondents of our real intentions, pressures of work intervened preventing them completing the task. We would still very much welcome a critical response to the original review, preferably from the authors of ESB. Just as we would be very keen for these authors to write articles for CSP, and speak at our conferences. Given CSP’s aim of encouraging debate we still feel that our decision to publish the review was politically defensible. As already explained it is a decision we now regret, but naivety is not necessarily racism, and it is to do political argument a disservice to suggest it is. Jock’s review was raising a number of very important points about what he regarded as the left’s lack of political realism about crime, and about how certain styles of left politics prevent the development of a more practical, and realistic, approach. It is not wrong per se to publish such views they need careful scrutiny and considered responses. Yet upon reflection it would have been better to have initiated a debate about racism in the pages of CSP with a review of ESB by a black reviewer.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Building Societies Association (BSA) as mentioned in this paper has proposed a new legislative framework which will enable its members to take on a broader role in the housing market and a Government consultative paper on the matter is expected out this month.
Abstract: Council house sales are declining ’Right to Buy’ scheme runs out of steam. This provides an opening for the building societies to widen their role in the housing market and a new way for the Tories to undermine public sector provision. The author sets this against weak opposition from local authorities who cannot afford to compete in the ideological and media battle which will ensue. The Building Societies Association is asking for a new legislative framework which will enable its members to take on a broader role in the housing market (BSA 1984). A Government consultative paper on the matter is expected out this month. If the BSA has its way the push to increased owner-occupation will be given a boost greater than that provided by the Conservatives’ ’Right to Buy’ policy. The building societies it would seem are planning to take over the housing world. ’Not just for ourselves’ according to Clive Thornton, former Chief General Manager of Abbey National ’but for the good of housing in this country’ (Abbey National Building Society, 1982), Leading Conservative party figures believe that a greater role for building societies could also benefit them and provide the weapon necessary to finally undermine public sector housing provision. There are three arguments to be considered if the above scenario is to be seen to be a plausible prospect. First, evidence mounts that the council house sales policy is rapidly running out of steam and is unlikely to make any further great inroads into the stock of local authority housing. Second, a detailed examination of the BSA proposals combined with the existing practice of a number of building societies reveals a clear desire for societies to take a wider role in the housing field in a manner which is proving very attractive

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: For example, the Wolfenden report as discussed by the authors stated that the law has historically focused on the female prostitute and carefully excluded the client from legal sanctions, and that it was not concerned with the "morality" of prostitution but only with those aspects which were offensive or caused a public nuisance.
Abstract: From Finsbury Park to Tooting in London, Broomhall in Sheffield, Chapeltown in Leeds, and Derby Road in Southampton kerb-crawling has for some time been a national problem of major proportions. In most urban centres up and down the country, in the post-war period, as prostitution has become more clandestine and furtive, kerb-drawling has become more blatant and widespread. As a result the level of harassment and intimidation experienced by women living in these areas has increased to a point where many are afraid to walk out on the streets alone especially at night. The legislators, the judiciary and the police, however, have been noticeably reluctant to deal with the problem. Based upon a double standard of morality, the law has historically focused on the female prostitute and carefully excluded the client from legal sanctions. Even the path-breaking Wolfenden Report (1957) which claimed that it was not concerned with the ’morality’ of prostitution, but only with those aspects which were offensive or caused a public nuisance, recognised that kerb-crawling ’is undoubtedly a serious nuisance to many well-behaved women’ and concluded that it did ’not feel able to make any positive recommendation . ’ Any hope that the ’progressive ’sixties might bring a changed judicial response were dashed by the Crook v Edmondson (1966) verdict. Employing section 32 of the 1956 Street Offences Act which states that it is an offence for ‘a man persistently to solicit

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Shaw and Hipgrave as mentioned in this paper conducted a survey of 67 statutory and voluntary agencies and found that specialist fostering is best distinguished from mainstream fostering, by its emphasis on contracts (usually six months at a time), by the payment of a fee (of up to £95 per week), and by a high level of support and training.
Abstract: This book has already, deservedly, attracted lots of attention (and reviews) in the social work press. It will remain popular, if only because the only other substantive account of ’specialist fostering’, is Nancy Hazel’s ’evangelical’ account of the Kent Family Placement Project. But it should be read by a wider audience than just those for whom fostering is a specialism. Specialist fostering does seem to be providing answers for the care of difficult and delinquent children and teenagers, even after everything else has been tried and failed. Specialist fostering is best distinguished from ’mainstream fostering’, by its emphasis on contracts (usually six months at a time), by the payment of a fee (of up to £95 per week), and by a high level of support and training. Shaw and Hipgrave combine an account of what is happening (via a survey of 67 statutory and voluntary agencies), and a thoughtful discussion of the issues. Surveys have limitations. This one is impressionistic and focuses on organisational details, and what respondents think is happening. Shaw and Hipgrave then go on to give their analysis of what they think is happening. There is no hard information of numbers, or success and failure, and only limited consideration of what might constitute success and failure. This cannot be blamed on Shaw and Hipgrave; rather it is a characteristic failure of British social work. Their discussion also has drawbacks. They pick their way through what is a bundle of competing terms. They finally prefer to use ’specialist fostering’, rather than ’teenage fostering’, or ’family placements’, or ’treatment fostering’. Again, they cannot be blamed for this muddle. It is a consequence of the ideological/theoretical differences of approach in this area of social work that is variously called ’fostering’ or ’home-

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the absence of a political consensus able to unite the disparate groups living in the cities who have been traditionally ignored or margainalised by the Labour Party and trade unions is a political problem pinpointed with greater passion and clarity by Friend and Metcalf.
Abstract: history of Heseltine’s Urban Development Corporation initiatives in Liverpool and docklands would have made for interesting comparisons with these earlier initiatives. An underlying theme of the book which I believe to be of great importance is the problematic absence of a political consensus able to unite the disparate groups living in the cities who have been traditionally ignored or margainalised by the Labour Party and trade unions alike a political problem pinpointed with greater passion and clarity by Friend and Metcalf in their excellent Slump City (19$1). It is a problem Harrison chooses to ignore altogether, preferring an Olympian contemplation of benign intervention from on high. To his credit Peter Marris argues through this minefield with considerable skill. Unfortunately his book is unlikely to be read by many outside academic circles, especially with such a boring title, for which Mr Marris bears some responsibility.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In the early 1980s, the pro-adoption lobby found it acceptable that foster parents will want to assume the role of the natural parent, rather than work with the natural parents in the child's best interests as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: lasting effects. But this is not the way that mainstream foster parents view themselves or are asked to view themselves. One of the strong developments of the early 1980s has been to promote adoption for young children, handicapped children and teenagers. This movement, sometimes called the ’pro-adoption lobby’, finds it acceptable that foster parents will want to assume the role of the natural parent, rather than work with the natural parents in the child’s best interests. It promotes fostering only as mainstream fostering as if that were natural parenting, and tries to avoid the ‘strategic’ component of parenting. While it would be unfortunate for fostering to develop a whole range of sub-specialisms, as the authors suggest, it would also be unfortunate if child care lost the energy and distinctive contribution that the present schemes have to offer. Shaw and Hipgrave would stop setting up specialist units. Presumabiy convinced of the relative openness of the local authority mainstream to change, they want specialist fostering to be merged back into the mainstream. For me, the very potential is the specialist unit, with its particular democratic relationship with foster parents, encouraged by open working relationships and the use of contracts, and by the emphasis on the group control of the foster parents. That is likely to be lost in the mainstream, and I would rather see it preserved and extended. To convert potential into wider practical success, more work and more research is

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In the wake of the remorseless rise in unemployment over the last five years, there has been a remarkably wide consensus on one solution: early retirement as discussed by the authors, a policy that receives approving nods in almost every direction from Arthur Scargill to Norman Tebbitt, Ray Buckton to Lord Vaizey and from the CBI to the Labour Party.
Abstract: In the wake of the remorseless rise in unemployment over the last five years has come a remarkably wide consensus on one solution. The policy that receives approving nods in almost every direction from Arthur Scargill to Norman Tebbitt, Ray Buckton to Lord Vaizey and from the CBI to the Labour Party is early retirement. Moreover the consensus appears to encompass the bulk of the general public: in a Marplan poll, conducted at the end of 1982, four out of five people interviewed said that early retirement was

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In a follow-up article as mentioned in this paper, the same authors make some further comments on key issues which his response raises, and highlight some key areas which are opened up by a comparison of Harris' position and my own.
Abstract: to it. Despite the fact that he describes me as having presented my arguments as ’the last word’, it was actually my intention to raise publicly a range of issues which I find difficult intellectually and politically, and to which I see no easy answers. I have therefore stifled my impulse to reply in the rather vitriolic tone which Harris adopts; instead I shall take this opportunity to make some further comments on key issues which his response raises. Harris notes that feminists have made an intervention which is central to the debate about community care, yet he is troubled by some of the conclusion drawn by myself and other writers ’in the genre’. I suspect that he is not alone in his response. So, rather than defend the details of my original article aainst his criticisms, I shall try to highlight some key areas which are opened up by a comparison of Harris’ position and my own. A central question posed by my original article is: Is non-sexist community care possible ? Harris does not answer this directly, but I take the implication of his critique to be that it is, both in the present and in the future. In presenting his case he makes four major criticisms of my position, each of which I shall respond to briefly. First, he suggests that we already have more non-sexist caring than I am prepared to admit. Second, he objects to my treatment of the emotional dimensions of care. Third, he rejects my ’utopian’view of residential care as a possible alternative. Finally, he argues that there is bound to be more caring undertaken by men in the future, if current employment trends continue. First, much of his critique centres around my interpretation of evidence about ’caring’ situations at the present time. There is considerable room for disagreement here, since a major problem is posed by the serious lack of systematic evidence about who actually does take on this work, let alone the details of how they organise it. One of Harris’ main criticisms of my use of evidence is that, in concentrating upon the care of the highly dependent elderly, I have selected a particular set of circumstances which happens to prove my point. I accept that these circumstances do not exhaust the range of caring situations, but I am not at all sure that the selection of a different client group would show a non-sexist caring pattern: that is, that men are as likely as women to be



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Bill (MFPB) as discussed by the authors was proposed to change women's access to money following the breadkdown of marriage, which has attracted much attention in recent years.
Abstract: These newspaper headlines typify an ongoing crisis in the area of marriage, divorce and the family. Divorce does make visable many of the contradictions inherent in the marriage ‘contract’, and the debate around the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Bill has provided ample opportunity to air those contradictions. The Bill itself is lengthy and complex but a major focus is its attempt to change women’s access to money following the breadkdown of marriage. In this respect the Bill, if it becomes law, will have very real material consequences for women. But a further important feature about this Bill resides at the level of ideology. The struggles between the Government (and promoters of this Bill, eg Campaign for Justice in Divorce) and those groups campaigning in opposition to large sections of the Bill (eg Rights of Women, The Legal Action Group, The National Council for One Parent Families) reflect popular conceptions of women as ex-wives. In these debates women are frequently depicted as lazy and workshy, living lives of luxury and refusing to work, in other words ‘alimony drones’. For example in criticising the current operation of the divorce law, one campaigner supporting the new Bill