What is the welfare state?

A system where the government takes responsibility for the social and economic wellbeing of citizens through provision of services and benefits.

What is the difference between universal and means-tested welfare provision?

Universal provision offers benefits and services to all citizens regardless of income, while means-tested provision targets only those who demonstrate financial need.

What is the New Right perspective on welfare?

It argues that state provision creates dependency, undermines individual responsibility and should be reduced in favour of market-based solutions.

What do social democratic perspectives argue about welfare?

They argue that the state should actively redistribute resources and provide comprehensive services to reduce inequality and poverty.

How do Marxists view the welfare state?

They argue it serves capitalism by maintaining the workforce, legitimising the system and controlling the working class while not fundamentally challenging inequality.

What is the feminist critique of welfare systems?

Feminist perspectives argue that welfare systems often assume traditional family structures and reinforce women's dependency on men or the state.

AQA A-Level Sociology 7192

Education

Topic overview The role and functions of education Class differences in educational achievement Labelling, subcultures and processes within schools Gender and educational achievement Ethnicity and educational achievement Selection and marketisation Privatisation and vocational education Educational policy, equality and globalisation

Methods in Context

Topic overview Access, gatekeepers and research ethics in schools Choosing methods for research in schools Data, theory and validity in educational research

Theory and Methods

Topic overview Research design and choosing a method Sources of data and types of data Positivism, interpretivism and research ethics Consensus, conflict, structural and social action theories Modernity and post-modernity Is sociology a science?Objectivity, value freedom and social policy

Culture and IdentityOptional topic

Topic overview Conceptions of culture Socialisation and the agencies of socialisation The self, identity and difference Identity, age, disability, ethnicity, gender and class Identity, production, consumption and globalisation

Families and HouseholdsOptional topic

Topic overview Functionalist views of the family Marxist and feminist views of the family The New Right, postmodernism and family policy Marriage, cohabitation and divorce Family diversity and the personal life perspective Conjugal roles and domestic labour Power relationships and domestic violence The social construction of childhood Birth rates and death rates Family size and the ageing population Migration and globalisation

HealthOptional topic

Topic overview The social construction of health and models of illness Class and gender inequalities in health Ethnic and regional inequality, and access to health care Mental illness and the power of the medical profession The sick role and the globalised health industry

Work, Poverty and WelfareOptional topic

Topic overview Poverty: definitions, explanations and distribution The welfare state and welfare provision The division of labour and the control of work Work, worklessness and life chances Globalisation and the global division of labour

Beliefs in SocietyOptional topic

Topic overview Ideology and science as belief systems Functionalist views of religion Marxist and feminist views of religion Religion as a force for social change Churches, sects, denominations and cults New religious movements and New Age movements Religion, gender, ethnicity, age and social class Secularisation Believing without belonging and postmodern religion Globalisation, fundamentalism and religion worldwide

Global DevelopmentOptional topic

Topic overview Theories of development and underdevelopment Globalisation, transnational corporations and aid agencies Aid, trade, industrialisation and urbanisation Environment, conflict and human development Population, gender and postcolonial critiques

The MediaOptional topic

Topic overview The new media and its significance Ownership, control and media globalisation The selection and presentation of the news Media representations of social groups Media effects and models of the audience Reception analysis and selective filtering

Stratification and DifferentiationOptional topic

Topic overview Theories of stratification Life chances and dimensions of inequality Defining and measuring social class Changing structures of inequality and globalisation Social mobility

Crime and Deviance

Work, Poverty and Welfare

The welfare state and welfare provision

1 thing to know
Paper 2

Overview

Universal and means-tested provision, the New Right, social democratic, Marxist and feminist views, and welfare pluralism.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

What do social democrats argue about welfare, and what forms does provision take?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What is the welfare state?
Model answer
A system where the government takes responsibility for the social and economic wellbeing of citizens through provision of services and benefits.
2
What is the difference between universal and means-tested welfare provision?
Model answer
Universal provision offers benefits and services to all citizens regardless of income, while means-tested provision targets only those who demonstrate financial need.
3
What is the New Right perspective on welfare?
Model answer
It argues that state provision creates dependency, undermines individual responsibility and should be reduced in favour of market-based solutions.
4
What do social democratic perspectives argue about welfare?
Model answer
They argue that the state should actively redistribute resources and provide comprehensive services to reduce inequality and poverty.
5
How do Marxists view the welfare state?
Model answer
They argue it serves capitalism by maintaining the workforce, legitimising the system and controlling the working class while not fundamentally challenging inequality.
6
What is the feminist critique of welfare systems?
Model answer
Feminist perspectives argue that welfare systems often assume traditional family structures and reinforce women's dependency on men or the state.

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Education

Methods in Context

Theory and Methods

Culture and Identity

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