Introduction

First published in 1978, Issues in Social Policy is designed as a basic textbook for social administration students in universities, polytechnics and similar institutions, and for students in allied fields such as medicine, nursing and public administration.

What is meant when we talk of ‘equality’ and ‘equity’ as social goals? Do the two conflict? What are the social needs and the social resources which our society tries to reconcile? Is voluntary social service any more than a frill tacked on an expanding statutory empire – or perhaps a way of cutting public expenditure? Is there a conflict between universalist and selectivist social policies? What is the impact of deviancy theory on social policy? Is the growing professionalisation of social work in the true interests of clients? These are some of the questions which form the material of the book.

The authors see the development of social policy as central to the development of a more just society, and the academic study of issues in social policy as crucial to clear thinking and effective action.