A PARALYSIS OF SOCIAL-POLICY

This article reviews the evidence of a paralysis of U.S. social policy. It finds that although the federal government has implemented new social programs, these programs either are provided on condition of willingness to work or are modest in their scope. Hence, social policy is, in some important respects, paralyzed. Linking this paralysis with the growing literature about the ineffectuality of the U.S. government, this article traces the origins of that ineffectuality of the political and economic policies of the past 20 years, most especially to the increasingly skewed distribution of income. It is argued that the paralysis of social policy exists because, despite intensification of social needs, the beneficiaries of these policies do not want to reverse them. Ultimately, to reverse these policies and finally end the paralysis, social welfare activists must build, through universalistic social programs, a broad-based coalition based on common human needs.