The Politics of Social Policy in the United States

Published by Princeton University Press 1988

The Politics of Social Policy in the United States

Edited by: Margaret Weir , Ann Shola Orloff and Theda Skocpol

Volume 2 in the series Studies from the Project on the Federal Social Role

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691222004

Overview
Contents

About this book

This volume places the welfare debates of the 1980s in the context of past patterns of U.S. policy, such as the Social Security Act of 1935, the failure of efforts in the 1940s to extend national social benefits and economic planning, and the backlashes against "big government" that followed reforms of the 1960s and early 1970s. Historical analysis reveals that certain social policies have flourished in the United States: those that have appealed simultaneously to middle-class and lower-income people, while not involving direct bureaucratic interventions into local communities. The editors suggest how new family and employment policies, devised along these lines, might revitalize broad political coalitions and further basic national values.

The contributors are Edwin Amenta, Robert Aponte, Mary Jo Bane, Kenneth Finegold, John Myles, Kathryn Neckerman, Gary Orfield, Ann Shola Orloff, Jill Quadagno, Theda Skocpol, Helene Slessarev, Beth Stevens, Margaret Weir, and William Julius Wilson.

Reviews

"Social democratic critiques of the American welfare state abound . . . {and this book] is one of the best works in this genre. It is solidly researched and written with calm authority."

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
FOREWORD Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
PREFACE Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
INTRODUCTION Understanding American Social Politics Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
I INSTITUTIONAL LIMITS AND PATTERNS OF POLICY
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	29
1 The Political Origins of America's Belated Welfare State Ann Shola Orloff Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	37
2 Redefining the New Deal: World War II and the Development of Social Provision in the United States Edwin Amenta and Theda Skocpol Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	81
3 Blurring the Boundaries: How the Federal Government Has Influenced Welfare Benefits in the Private Sector Beth Stevens Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	123
4 The Federal Government and Unemployment: The Frustration of Policy Innovation from the New Deal to the Great Society Margaret Weir Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	149
II TRANSFORMATIONS WITHIN THE NEW DEAL SYSTEM
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	191
5 Agriculture and the Politics of U.S. Social Provision: Social Insurance and Food Stamps Kenneth Finegold Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	199
6 From Old-Age Assistance to Supplemental Security Income: The Political Economy of Relief in the South, 1935-1972 Jill Quadagno Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	235
7 Postwar Capitalism and the Extension of Social Security into a Retirement Wage John Myles Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	265
III SOCIAL POLICY, RACE, AND THE "POVERTY PROBLEM"
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	285
8 The Limits of the New Deal System and the Roots of Contemporary Welfare Dilemmas Theda Skocpol Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	293
9 Race and the Liberal Agenda: The Loss of the Integrationist Dream, 1965-1974 Gary Orfield Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	313
10 Racial Tensions and Institutional Support: Social Programs during a Period of Retrenchment Helene Slessarev Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	357
11 Politics and Policies of the Feminization of Poverty Mary Jo Bane Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	381
12 Family Structure, Black Unemployment, and American Social Policy Kathryn M. Neckerman, Robert Aponte and William Julius Wilson Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	397
EPILOGUE The Future of Social Policy in the United States: Political Constraints and Possibilities Margaret Weir, Ann Shola Orloff and Theda Skocpol Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	421
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	447
INDEX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	451