Author: Andre Coleman

POVERTY EFFECTS ON A CHILD’S SELF ESTEEM

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Abstract

A child’s self esteem is very important in determining the future of the child. A child must grow with a positive self esteem. Self esteem is affected by poverty. Poverty affects the socio-economic welfare of the family which in turn affects the child. This usually happens when the parents of the poor child are not able to afford what other children are getting form their parents including better education, medical cover, social facilities among others. The poor child who suffers from low self-esteem is not able to compete with the rest because he is psychologically affected. The effects of low self esteem could go on even up to adulthood. This article examines the impacts of poverty on a child’s self esteem.

Table of contents
Introduction
Background
Problem statement
Significance of the study
Literature review

a) Theoretical literature review

b) Empirical literature review

Methodology
Discussion and findings
Recommendations
Conclusion
1.0 Introduction

Self esteem is the key driving factor in a child’s achievement in life. For a child to succeed he must have a positive sense of self esteem. A child with low self esteem is always out competed by the rest of the children with positive self esteem. Self esteem can make one either to do well or poorly in every day activities.

On the other hand, poverty is the lack of finances to meet the daily financial commitments. A poor person, according to the United Nations is a person who lives below a $1 per day. Poverty affects a person’s ability to cater and provide the daily basic needs. Children borne out of poor families are characterized with low self esteem. This is because the parents are not in a position to provide for them the daily basic needs as the other children from the well off families.

When at school, these children are teased on their social-economic welfare lowering further their sense of self-esteem. When such children grow up with such low self esteem, they do not compete well because they were poorly prepared for the future due poor background. This research paper investigates the effect of poverty on the self esteem of the children.

2.0 Background

Poverty is the lack of well-being by the people. It is the inability of people to purchase basic necessities of life. This includes food, shelter, education and clothing. Absolute poverty is a type of poverty associated with the lack of financial capability to afford basic necessities of life. It usually occurs when a person spends less than $1 in a day. This type is also known as financial poverty. This kind of poverty can be alleviated by encouraging the people to develop small, medium or large businesses. The4 businesses should make use of natural resources for them to be effective. The other type of poverty is the poverty that is not associated with income. Also called the non- income poverty. This is where the people may have some money but in general, their life standards are below the society’s expectations i.e. they may not be in a position to afford basic education, health care etc. this type of poverty can be alleviated through increased access to affordable social services. The social services should also be qualitative in addition typo to being affordable. In general, poor people often live below the standards of the society.

Poverty is most prevalent in the unemployed, the youth, children, mothers, and the aged. Children borne out of poverty must struggle to reach the level of their counterparts from well off families. They struggle through their adulthood trying to make ends meet. Poverty is a social problem because the children borne in poor families are not given a fair opportunity to compete with the rest. There have been various measures of poverty that have been and are still in use although new measures of poverty are being advocated. The UNDP developed the human development index in 1990 to measure the level of poverty. This measures poverty based on the income. Globally, a measure that is used to measure poverty is the one developed and regularly updated by the World Bank; the $1per day. This measure is widely used although it doesn’t show the real human wellbeing. That is why better methods that can capture the well being of humans are being advocated.

Self-esteem: self esteem can be either high medium or low. According to Baumeister, smart & Boden 1996), extremely high self esteem indicate destructiveness and narcissism. Some people may have false sense of high esteem whereby the feel they have high self esteem yet they have very low self esteem. A person with low self esteem lacks self awareness and may be defensive. (Hoyle, Kernis, Leary & Baldwin 1991). Low self esteem is associated with depression. There is a strong relationship between suicide and low sense of self esteem. According to Guindon H. (2010), a person with a high sense of self esteem is more likely to be self directed and independent than low esteem individuals.

Problem statement

the way children perceive things is very important. This is because it is a vital component in developing their self esteem. In addition to that, self esteem is a key aspect in the learning process of a child. Through it, a child can view things either positively or negatively. On the other hand, low self esteem in children can be blamed on poverty. As children grow up, they may face low self esteem problems especially during their puberty. Self esteem varies with from one child top another (Williams, 2007). According to sociological researchers, there are two types of poverty namely: situational poverty where a family can plunge into poverty due to some negative aspects of change like loss of a job or problems of a disease and generational poverty which when it strike a family it is difficult to deal with and a child may suffer even up to old age. Children are affected differently by the two type of poverty (Dana, 2003).
A child born in a family that has generational poverty grows in the knowledge that the situation the family is in is determined by fate and the situation is beyond control. A child born in a family with generational poverty always feel inferior compared to his/her peers and usually suffer from low self esteem. However, low self esteem disappears and the child grows confidence if the situation disappears.

3.0 Research questions

This research seeks to investigate the relationship between poverty and the self esteem of children; whether the relationship is direct on inverse. It undertakes to answer the following research questions:

Does poverty have and impact on the self esteem of children?
Is the relationship between poverty and self esteem a direct or an inverse relationship?
Does low self-esteem progress in to adult life in a poverty stricken family?
4.0 Significance of the study

literature on the effects of poverty on psychological development of a child triggered the research into this topic on the effects of poverty on a child’s self esteem. The former studies were not clear and specific on the effects of poverty on the self esteem of a child (Sandra and Josefina, 2002). This later became reality and a challenge. The observation of children across different family backgrounds drew the interests of different researchers. They started working on it and in the preliminary observations, the self esteem in children decreased as the level of poverty increased among children but not absolutely. This means that some children had high self esteem though they were from poor backgrounds and vice versa. No observations were made on whether the low self esteem disappeared as the children grew albeit still being in poverty. This unanswered questions triggered the topic and these forms the main objective of this research. Through this study, we shall find out the relationship between poverty and self esteem in children. From the findings, researchers can come out with a better methodology of dealing with low self esteem in children from poverty stricken families.

5.0 Literature review
5.1 Theoretical literature review

This research will make use of different library material and electronic databases such as J-STOR and inform global database in compiling of the research. In addition the research will make use of books and peer reviewed journals to compile and complete the task. The use of government publication will be very instrumental to get the statistics and figures that are relevant to the topic.

According to Sandra, W. (2007), children can be affected by the family issues like lack of funds, peer pressure, stigma and family stresses. Children from poverty stricken families often do suffer from stresses from the family unlike their peers from other well off families. It is more humiliating to them when they are not in a position to pay the full amount required for school activities. Also affecting children’s self esteem are factors like stigma attached to poverty stricken families, class divisions, humiliation from peers pointing out what they lack, low quality clothing compared to their peers etc. in addition to this, there are other factors like lack of access to some facilities like swimming pools, certain games like golf etc. all these factors can have a negative impact on the self esteem of the child which in turn negatively influences the child’s education. Children always want to feel confident in their abilities. Contrary to this, their schoolwork and future life prospects will be highly affected negatively. Sandra, W. (2007), adds that for children to do well, they need role models that are positive, positive friend, families together wit h communities. This will make a difference on their self esteem.

Parents also have a role to play as far as self esteem is concerned. As much as they should praise the children for a job well done, they should watch out not to overdo it because it will backfire. Very high expectations to children pressure them so much that they make mistakes avoiding challenges. Too much criticism also damages self esteem. Therefore, parents must strike a balance. A child can overcome financial as well as emotional if all the players, teachers, aunts, parents and peer can be of positive influence to them (Sandra, W. 2007).

Rani, (2006) studies the impact of single poor mothers on their children in India and He notes that the impacts are wide, varied and complex. Many single women in India, though they do not have any formal employment, they head their households providing everything that is needed. When the husband dies, these women assume every responsibility of the home. They work outside leaving the children alone at home. Since they are poor, they can not afford to hire a care taker to take care of the children. Their financial indigence can not allow them to provide mentorship for their children. They thus feel anxious about their children’s future. The conditions are hard for both the mothers and the children. The mothers are hands tied to care for the children’s basic needs. With the soaring economic conditions, they strain and cut down expenses. This leads to provision of poor quality services to these children. They drop out of school. In pursuit for the basic needs, they end up assisting the mother in provision of basic necessities. The family’s role as a socialization agent is weakened. The whole scenario is a total mess (Rani, I. 2006).

Mclahahan & Booth, (1989) argue that the socialization process is different in single parent families. That the attachment of children to parents, the expectations and values of parents and the ability of parents to influence their children’s behavior are some of the factors that are vital in enhancing socialization within families. In addition to that, structural factors of whether a family is single parent or not matters. Single mothers are less influential regarding children’s decisions than when they are two. Peer pressure is more intense in children from single mother families then others. Though some researchers say that school performance of children fro the two types of families differ, Rani, (2006) says that studies carried out show that children from two parent families out performed their counterparts form single parent mothers. This is explained by the low socio economic standards of the children from single mother families. In this connection, the children from poor families’ educational performance are affected by the poor economic standards of their mothers (Mclanahan, 1985). More so, the school drop out rate was high for children from single mothers that those from two parents. Single mothers rarely monitor the social activities of their adolescents. This leads them to be susceptible to peer-pressure more than their counterparts resulting to other chain of bad social behavior. These children according to studies spend more time doing chores at home as compared to their counterparts from two parents.

According to wisegeek, (2010), poverty starts affecting children even before they are borne. This experienced when the mother s are poor and can not insured. Therefore they always don’t get prenatal care early enough making them suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure and other complications. This leads to developmental delays in their children growth, lagging behind their peers. As if hat is not enough, children from poverty stricken families usually experience many health complications like asthma (due to living in poorly ventilated house structures) and obesity (due to the inability of parents to afford a diet rich in proteins). Another problem of growing up in poverty is mental problems. This occurs to due to stresses that accompany poverty stricken families. These problems include; unemployment, divorce, death, drug abuse etc. Anxiety and depression feelings are the outcomes of such situations and they can last to adult hood. In addition to lack of quality time from working parents who strive to make ends meet, children from poor families spent much of their time in poor quality daycare centers. This could impact negatively on their emotional health (wisegeek, 2010).

Children form poor background often receive low quality education once in elementary school because they are involved in a lot of movements or they are forced to attend cheap schools that provide poor services. This will set up long term repercussions to the child. If he can’t learn properly in elementary school he will be affected even in high school and college. The lack of a university degree will ruin the rest of the lifetime of the child as he will struggle a lot.

Teenagers form poor families are most likely to indulge in drug abuse, risky promiscuous behavior and alcohol. The indulgence in this will most likely spur chains of other unlawful activities all this happen at the expense of learning and preparation for future life which their counterparts from affluent families will be doing. This complicates their lives even further.

Solving generational poverty is a problem because it can affect two to three generations. A family suffering from generation poverty will be so frustrated; they even create myths surrounding their poverty situation thus forming a culture of poverty that limits their chances of breaking through and coming out successful. This may include indulging in unlawful acts like burglary. Due to poverty, children from families suffering from generational poverty grow up knowing that their present circumstances are fate determined in addition to factors that are beyond their control while those children fro m the middle and upper class are taught how to focus on the future and the potential to their lives (wisegeek, 2010).

5.2 Empirical literature review

Rosenburg & Owens (2001) provides an example of low esteem persons drawn from the examples and the surveys. They find that persons with low esteem are more sensitive to any experiences that threaten to damage their esteem. Criticism troubles them most causing them to react more emotionally to failure. In addition to that, they easily magnify events as negative and make non critical events as critical. These people experience low interpersonal success due to inadequate interpersonal confidence.

High self esteem people look for growth while their counterparts, the low esteem people usually protect the esteem not wanting to make mistakes. Low self esteemed people are more pessimistic, distressed emotionally, less happy and anxious. Low esteemed people are rigid, indecisive and inflexible.

Self esteem and happiness are interrelated. High self esteem fosters better physical health, good feelings, low depression, etc.

Abernathy T. Webster, and Vermeulen, M. (2010), using the Evans-Stoddart model, they examined the data on 1759 adolescents of age 12-19. They found out from the study that there is a relation ship between the income of families and the health and that the relationship is based on the social environment including the differences in lifestyles, access to healthcare and low sense of self esteem. The analysis entailed bivariate and multivariate which displayed the positive relationship between self esteem and mastery and physical exercises levels. Interpreting the findings, they found out that low physical activity experienced by children from poor families have impact negatively on their self esteem hence their health. To reduce the impact, policies and programs that reduce poverty and increase the physical activity o f such children should be established. These policies would not only boost the health of the children but will also increases the level of esteem that the child has. This will translate into improved academic performance fro the children and thus a brighter future (Abernathy, T. 2010).

In another survey carried out by Trzcinski, E. (2004), he studied school children in Middle Ages and assessed the effects of welfare on their daily activities and life. He undertook thirty interviews with children from metropolitan and large areas. He gathered the views of children as regarding the impact of multiple jobs on the child-parent relationship. His outcome of the research was that the multiple jobs done by their parents during the night or in evening interfered with the child- parent relationship. He also found out that children who affected by these jobs went to school late and that the children while at school were always teased about their poverty and welfare issues. Trzcinski, E. (2004), noted that this affected the performance of the children at school because children from urban and poor families were poor and therefore their welfare was low. They could not afford many of the things that those children from the well-off families could. He points out that this also affected the child’s psychological well being (Trzcinski, E. 2004).

6.0 Methodology

This research paper makes use of secondary data obtained from secondary sources like the books, journal articles, and the internet.

7.0 Main findings and discussion

This research paper finds a major relation ship between the impacts of poverty on child’s self-esteem. Poverty has significant effects to the children coming from poor backgrounds. According to Rani, (2006), many families that were single parents in India, they were poor. This was attributed to the inability of the mothers to posses various useful skill that would assist them get good employment. These mothers stayed out late fending for their children. The children on the other hand were lest on their on. This makes the families poor since the mother’ income in is not enough to cater for the food, shelter and the clothing. The low social economic situation of the family affects the children psychologically. This is because; their parents can not afford the better education, better health, social services recreation among many other things. These children miss a lot. Their sense of self esteem is tampered with. They start seeing themselves in a different angle as less achievers. They can’t think properly like their counterparts from well-off families. Socialization is hard because they are teased. As Trzcinski, E. 2004 found out, these children from poor back grounds are teased at school of their socio- economic welfare. This just serves to increase the pressure they have on their self esteem. They end up suffering from stress and depression. In, fact this explains the high school drop out rates among children from poor families.

The poor family conditions affect the children’s performance at school. Their counterparts out perform them shining in every aspect. There many reasons to explain this. Just as Rani, (2006) pointed out, those children from single mother families are at double risks. They have no one to supervise their academic work as the mother is too busy. She leaves early and reports I back ate. They are on their own doing every chore at home and thus they have less time to study. They also walk to school. Due to the strained economic condition of the family, their parents can only afford a cheap school that offers low quality education. With no family socialization, these children grow into adulthood equipped with very little education and skills. Thus they will still lead poor lives just because they are less prepared to compete with the rest of the children who are well prepared for the future.

In addition to the above, poverty starts having its effects on the child prom a poor family from his birth. As Guindon H. (2010) points out, the parents of these children are poor therefore they can’t afford health care insurance. They keep waiting for pre-natal care from cheap hospitals. Due to the low quality of the services, they give birth to children in poor environment growing up with many complications like asthma diabetes etc. these poor conditions affect them as they grow up because the parents are poor and can not afford good nutritional diet to their children. The poor conditions that the child grows in affects his self esteem and instead of the child growing up fighting poverty, he accepts it, and starts to think that everything and every situation they undergo is fate driven this low self esteem if not fought hard, results in vicious cycle of poverty for an individual. He will be poor since borne to his death. And the poverty can surpass to the next generation.

8.0 Recommendations to take care low self esteemed individuals

The following are the recommendations made to lower the effect of poverty on the self esteem children from poor backgrounds:

Social support: the state should increase programs that provide social support to the individuals with low self esteem. According to Guindon H. (2010), people with strong social ties have high sense of self esteem. Therefore, to raise a person’s self esteem, one needs to increase a sense of belonging.

Cognitive behavioral strategies: this helps reduce stress and depression as it increases the level of self esteem among schizophrenic patients. Tests carried out showed that techniques like relaxation, study skill and guided imagery help reduce anxiety and increase the level of self esteem in college students.

Individual, family or group strategies: one-on-one individual counseling increases self esteem thou, it should not be used on critical cases of low self esteem. Family therapy should address issues like ineffective parenting styles and poor family functioning. This may be useful in treating issues related to family dynamics (e.g. eating disorder).

Physical fitness strategy: Exercises especially sports help increase self esteem. The effect of exercises is most felt in adolescents.

Other strategies like reality strategies, solution focused therapy, narrative therapy, play therapy and creative arts have also been used to increase self esteem. In school going children especially, child centered lay therapy is highly recommended to alleviate the problems of low self esteem. However, the therapist should first understand the source of the low self esteem. Through this strategy, parents and teachers are taught ways of dealing with such cases and how to improve the child’s autonomy, responsibility and setting therapeutic limits.

The state should come up with programs to help reduce the long term effects of poverty on the development children. Nutrition programs like the women, infants and children (WIC) should be encouraged to because they help feed pregnant women and young children below the age of five with nutritious food. This includes offering of free pre-school to children from poor back grounds.

9.0 Conclusion

Poverty should be taken seriously. It is affecting many children from poor backgrounds. Such children have low self esteem which ends up messing up their entire future life. Poor children from poor backgrounds do not do well in school due to low self esteem. They also experience frequent cases of stress and depression. Majority of single mother families are poor. Frequencies of school dropouts are high in such poor families. Due to frustration, they succumb to peer-pressure hence indulging in drug abuse and promiscuity. If the low esteem goes on in the lives of these children as they grow up, they may end up being poor and frustrated.

The state should move fast to save and secure the future of these children through social programs that are helpful to them. Other non-governmental organizations should work hand in hand with the government in alleviating poverty and helping the poor families. Some of the programs that they should involve themselves with are nutrition programs, individual family strategies, physical fitness strategies, social support and cognitive behavioral strategies among many others. These will save the future generation.

References

Abernathy, T., Webster, G. and Vermeulen, M. (2010). Relationship Between Poverty and Health Among Adolescents. Retrieved on February 23, 2010 from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12003291

Boden, J., Ferguson,D. and Horwood, M. (2008). Does adolescent self esteem predict later life outcomes? A test of the causal role of self esteem. Development and psychology.20, 319-339.

Dana, H. (2003). What are the Long Term Effects of Poverty? Retrieved on January 21, 2010
from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-long-term-effects-of-poverty.htm

Guindon, H. (2009). Self esteem across lifespans: issues and interventions. Brunner-Routlegde USA

Kernis, M., Grannemann,B and Mathis, C (1991). Stability of Self Esteem as a Moderator of The Relation Between Level of Self-Esteem and Depression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 61, 80-84

Mclanahan, S. and Bumpass, L. (1988). Intergenerational consequences of family disruption, American journal of sociology 94 (1):130-152

Owens, T and Stryker S (2001). The future of self esteem. Extending self esteem theory and research. New York Cambrige University Press.

Rani, I. (2006). Child Care by Poor Single Mothers: Study of Mother Headed Families in India. Journal of Comparative Family studies 01.

Sandra, A., & Josefina, F. (2002). Gender and poverty: Self-esteem among elementary school
children. Journal of children and poverty, 2(1), 5-22.
Williams, S. (2007). Child poverty and Self Esteem. Retrieved on January 21, 2010 from
http://poverty.suite101.com/article.cfm/child_poverty_and_self_esteem

Sandra,W. (2007). Child Poverty and Self Esteem: How Poverty can Contribute to Children’s Negative Emotional State.retrievd on February 23, 2010 from: http://poverty.suite101.com/article.cfm/child_poverty_and_self_esteem

Trzcinski, E. (2002). Middle School Children’s Perceptions on Welfare and Poverty: An Exploratory, Qualitative Study. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Vol. 23, 4.

Wisegeek, (2010). What are the long term effects of poverty? Retrieved on February 22, 2010 from: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-long-term-effects-of-poverty.htm

Social inequality is a situation in which there can be found differences between individual groups in a society from the point of view of their social groups, social circles or social status. In some parts of the world there are different social groups that do not have the same rights to propriety, vote, freedom of speech, health care or education.

Researches show that inequalities are still present now as well as in the past, but with some minor changes depending on the countries.

The easiest way to measure the differences in social classes is to grade people by their occupation. These differences are: differences in earning, standard of education, differences in style of dressing, accent, values, behaviour, prestige, power and wealth.

According to Stephen Moore in “Sociology Alive” one example of social scale is Registrar-General’s classification which divides all jobs in five categories: Professional and higher such as doctors, architects; Intermediate professionals and administrative personnel such as teachers and farmers; skilled for non-manual work such as assistants and skilled for manual such as miners, metalworkers; semi-skilled such as farm workers, train conductors; unskilled such as labourers on construction sites.

Every society has its own ways to decide the place in the hierarchy and in some cases, once an individual occupies a certain place in the hierarchy it may be hard to change but that depends entirely on the society they live in.

Over time the principle of stratifying classes has changed and varies from society to society. Some stratification systems based on the ascription idea say that people position in society is given at birth. Other relay on the idea that individuals can achieve their position in society by marriage, hard working, education or lottery winnings, but there are cases when people can gain their status from a mix of achievement and ascription.

A stratification system is opened or closed depending on how easy it is for an individual to move up or down the layers of society. This is also called social mobility and it can take place easier in opened societies rather than the closed ones where this is very unlikely to happen.

One example of a closed stratification system that was used in the past and it is still present today is the Caste system that can be found in modern day India. This system was founded on Hinduism and on the reincarnation belief, where each person is born and must remain in the same caste as seen in the table below:

Brahmin teachers / priests higher status

Kshatryas soldiers / landlords

Vaishyas merchants / traders lower status

Shudras servants / manual workers

Dalits (“untouchables”) do the worst jobs in society social outcasts

Another stratification example it is found in South Africa with its basis in ethnicity background is the apartheid system. In this society everything is classed in relation to a person’s skin colour, even education, health system benefits, employment and housing. Because in this society the position of an individual is ascribed to him at birth the system is similar to the caste system. The higher status was given to the white individuals in the detriment of black persons. In a civilised society this is called racism and it is condemned.

In the early 20th century across Europe, Russia and Japan the dominant stratification system was the Feudalism. The society was divided in four layers: Kings, Nobility, Knights and Peasants. The dominant class was the king’s class which was seen as a god given authority. Nobility and knights were mostly owners of lands given to them by the higher classes. Peasants, in their turn, were given small piece of land for which they had to serve the higher classes. In this system there was no chance of social mobility.

The term social mobility is the ability of an individual or groups to move from one social status to another. This can be measure on two different time scales, intra-generational which refers to the movement an individual has within his lifetime, and inter-generational which refers to the movement of a individual in reference with his parent generation. Taking in consideration inter-generational social mobility when a individual is born in a lower class family his chances to achieve a higher status would be lower than the ones of a child born in a upper class family, because of the differences in the parents income and so the education that would be available to him.

Today in some countries some governments have put in place a system which is trying to help the children from lower social classes to have the same chance in education as the rest. Some governments give a monthly allowance to the parents to be used on the school needs of their children; most of the European countries have free education up to a certain level so the children that are from a lower class family would have the chance to study at the same level as the rest of the children.

There has always been an association between health and social class and despite the welfare state and the improvements in health in all sections of societies over the years, this discrepancy remain. It applies to all aspects of health, including life expectancy, infant and maternal mortality and general levels of health. For some people, the failure to close the social gap is a disgrace, but others will claim that as long as these parameters are improving in all levels of society, there is no need for concern.

The inverse care law states that “in relation to health care and the welfare state, the idea that those who have the greatest need are least likely to get the resources and those whose need is least get the most resources” quoted from handout 19.09.2012

The welfare state in Britain is a system that is put in place in which the state takes responsibility to protect the welfare and health of its citizens to meet social needs, it is done trough provision of services and benefits. This is viewed as a safety net to protect the most vulnerable people and to guarantee them access to health care, housing, education and income. Pros towards this system are that everyone has easy access to it and it is fair towards everyone that needs it, Cons there are some people that abuse the system and would rather stay in a council house and live on the benefits than search for a job that would pay just a little bit more.

Theories of inequalities

In Karl Marx’s opinion the capitalist society is split into two different social classes: the bourgeoisie – the social class which were the owners of businesses, the employers; and the proletariat – the social class which were the working class, the employees. The two different classes have a conflict of interest because the employers wanted to increase their profit and the employees wanted higher wages. Because the bourgeoisie were the ones that owned everything they were able to decide on the wages they would give to the proletariat and because their interest was higher profit those wages would diminish, until one point where the poverty of the proletariat would reach a point where they would rebel against the bourgeoisie and a revolution would start. The result would be Socialism.

The Functionalist viewpoint comes from Davis and Moore which sees society working in a harmonious way, just like an organism, where every institution has its own role to play. This viewpoint needs a good hierarchy system put in place where each person knows what role they need to accomplish to be able to do their part in the evolution of the society. The functionalists agree that this society needs to allow mobility between classes ensuring that the most talented individuals are given the possibility to reach the top of the ladder so they can perform their duties most vital to the society.

Poverty

There are three types of poverty: absolute, relative and subjective poverty.

As it is shown in Sociology, GCSE-Collins, Walker and Walker (1997) argue that the definition of poverty chosen by the state is crucial from two points of view, first shows the government acceptance of the existence of poverty and second because it influence what policies are adopted to tackle poverty and how it will deal with poor people.

Absolute poverty relate to the insufficiency of income for providing minimum needed to survive. People living in absolute poverty are barely able to survive because they lack even the most basic needs like food, clean water, shelter and clothing. Absolute poverty is hard to define because it is hard to state what exactly the limit of survival is. This differs according to age, lifestyle and climate.

Strength: it can be compared from society to society; it can be compared over time

Weakness: what counts as necessity or requirements vary from society to society.

Relative poverty is measured in relationship to the society around the individual, because a relatively poor individual has less than the average income. This differs from society to society. What is considered a necessity in some country may not be the same in others.

Strength: takes into account expectation in the society; can afford to celebrate certain holydays.

Weakness: can’t be compared over time or between societies; have inequalities rather than poverty; agreement over what is essential; expectations differ from individual to individual.

Subjective poverty is harder to measure because it differs from one individual to another. Some consider themselves poor because they do not have the same buying power as someone they relate to.

Culture of poverty

This approach takes in consideration that if one individual is brought up in a poor household they have a slim to none chance of escaping poverty because of the poverty of their parents. The Culture of poverty argument was developed by Oscar Lewis while studying the poverty in Central America. The culture of these people was different from the society they lived in.

Weakness: it is deterministic- can’t get out

Poverty Cycle

Because some poor people do not support their children and do not encourage them to strive to do better and finish school they condemn the next generation to a life of poverty from childhood.

Strength: predictable

Weakness: it is deterministic and generational.

New right view

This idea is based on the fact that the poor stopped to look after themselves and have developed a dependency culture and have no incentive to change that. All of this is caused by high enough benefits offered by the state.

Strength: inequalities are desirable for society; creates incentives to work harder

Weakness: discourage self-improvement, without welfare state there will be a need for these people to work.

Situational constraints

These usually appear in areas where the dominant social class is predominantly poor, unemployed or employed in a low wage job. Those who grow up here have a hard time to get out of this social class and a high percentage of them end up being unemployed or working in a low paid jobs.

Marxist view about poverty says that it is a good idea to have poverty because in that way there will always be a pool of labourers that will be in need of jobs and it will give employers the possibility to keep the wages down because they will always have people looking for work. In this way unions will not have the power to ask for higher wages. In fact having a welfare state stops people from revolting.

Taking in consideration all of the above, the best system was the functionalism, because even though they stated a need for class stratification, also wanted harmony in society and enough social mobility for those talented to move up on the ladder in achieving their goals and in helping of society. For a society to work properly, it will always be a need of class stratification, but with enough mobility between the social layers where everyone works primarily for the benefit of the rest and then for their own.

Life is more uncertain now than it was in the early 1950s. Discuss this claim.
Introduction

The welfare state, which was a feature of 1950s Britain was predicated on an optimistic view of the world, and one which anticipated that British social institutions such as the family would remain the same. However, increased technological change, post-war immigration policy and a fluctuating world market brought such certainties into question. Britain rapidly became a more liberal and culturally diverse society and this had implications in almost every area of social life. This paper will examine the view that life is more uncertain now than it was in the early 1950s. In doing so it will examine knowledge, particularly religious knowledge, the concept of the family, and the processes of globalization.

The Family

In the 1950s the institution of the family was seen as one of the best ways of ordering our lives. It was the primary instrument of socialization where children learned the norms and values of the society in which they lived. The transformation of family life and of family forms has been unprecedented in the last thirty years the traditional nuclear family of father, mother and children, has been challenged and in some cases abandoned in favour of other ways of living.^[1]Some of these changes have come about as the result of the feminist challenge to patriarchal power and the patriarchal nature of the traditional family. Prior to the Second World War men were the family breadwinners and women stayed at home to look after the children and to tend to the husband’s needs. From the mid-nineteen fifties onwards women started to re-enter the workplace in increasing numbers. This gave women more choices about how they would live their lives, such choices were not available in the early nineteen fifties but the late twentieth century and twenty first centuries are characterized by a diversity of family forms. The nuclear family no longer dominates, now we have step families, lone parent families and cohabiting same sex couples, all existing alongside the nuclear family. Statistics on these different family forms have been used by Conservative Governments to claim that there is a breakdown of the traditional family and this has led to a much wider moral decay in society.^[2] There has also been concern over men’s power and role in family life and the implications this may have for social order (Phillips, 1997).^[3] Phillips argues that the decline in the family may lead to the death of fatherhood and could have implications for men’s health and their son’s development. It refers not only to changes in the family but to the fact that these changes could also bring about the destruction of the things which hold society together. Feminists on the other hand welcome the change in family forms because they have challenged the patriarchal nature of the nuclear family in the same way as they have challenged the patriarchal nature of religion.

Religious Knowledge

Prior to the Enlightenment religious knowledge was regarded as authoritative. Religious knowledge is knowledge that is based on revealed truths rather than empirical data or scientific experimentation. Although sometimes science and religion are interested in the same questions such as the history of the world and the nature of humnity^[4] The rise in scientific knowledge called the claims of religion into question and the late twentieth century has seen this questioning in the form of a massive decline in Church attendance.^[5] In spite of this Armstrong (1999)^[6] has said that since the 1970s religion has been high on the agenda in the forms of the Christian Right in America and the tensions between Jews and Muslims in the Middle East. Marx, Durkheim and Weber, the acknowledged fathers of the social sciences, predicted that increased industrialization and new technologies would bring massive social change and that this would result in secularization.^[7] Certainly on the surface this appears to be occurring, Church attendance has declined since the 1950s and education and welfare, which were once functions performed by the Church, have been taken over by the state. In addition to this, other forms of knowledge, such as science, appear to have more credibility than religious knowledge.^[8] It might be said that religious knowledge remains to the extent that it provides some kind of answers to questions that science has so far failed to answer, such as where we go when we die. Social scientists have defined religion in two ways, the substantive definitions say what religion is while functionalist definitions say what religion does. Emile Durkheim (1912/1965) for example described religion as a sort of social glue which held society together. Durkheim believed that although religion would remain, it would, over time, change its form^[9] Thus, because religion served a social function, traditional religious services might be replaced by other traditional gatherings such as Thanksgiving in America (Bellah, 1970).^[10] Max Weber (1904/1930) on the other hand said that religion gave meaning to people’s actions eg. the Protestant work ethic Weber^[11] Weber believed that when people became disenchanted with the supernatural content of religion then religion would die out. Peter Berger (1967) has said of religion that:

…religion is the audacious attempt to conceive of the entire universe as being humanly significant (Berger, 1967:28).^[12]

The search for significance spreads across cultures. In the 1950s Britain was still seen as a largely Christian country and the Church of England was the established Church, the official religion. Mass immigration from 1948 onwards has meant that Britain is now a multi-cultural and multi-faith society. At the same time feminists have challenged the masculine bias contained within traditional religious knowledge and say that women’s experiences of religion have been ignored. The secularization thesis holds that religion is dying out but the situation with religious knowledge is not as simple as that, rather the situation is changing, and so traditional beliefs are called into question. This questioning tends to make people more uncertain of the beliefs they hold than might previously have been the case. Such changes are not confined to Britain but appear to be taking place on a global scale.

Globalisation

Since the 1950s the world has witnessed vast changes in transportation, in technology, communications and agriculture. Increased trade flow between different countries and the spread of capitalism has meant that the borders between nations are not as fixed as they once were and diverse societies are moving closer together.^[13] There are differing views on globalization and these can be broadly defined in the following ways. Globalists, argue that we are witnessing changes that are being felt across the world and that increasingly nation states are becoming less autonomous. Internationalists on the other hand do not hold this view, they believe that the global movements we are seeing are not a new phenomenon. Although international activity may appear to have intensified in recent years they argue that in some areas this has strengthened state powers.^[14] The third view is that of the transformationalists who say that globalization has created new circumstances which are transforming state powers. Transformationalists say that although the outcome may be uncertain politics can no longer be the preserve of individual nation states. This is because the social and political contexts are changing and this has implications for the way states operate.^[15] The information age as personified by the internet, satellite television and mobile phones means that people can communicate across the globe in almost an instant. Global economic changes can affect many different societies, some benefit from this and some end up worse than they were before. This has led Giddens (1999) to say that we are living in a runaway world that is propelled by forces that are beyond our understanding.^[16] Held (1995) has argued that nation states are defined by their borders and the forces of globalization are breaching those borders and threatening the autonomy of individual states.

Large corporations such as Microsoft control global markets hold considerable power, such power could end up in the hands of a few individuals and would thus become domination (Allen, 2004). Technology has the power to influence the way we see people and places, for example we may no longer have to visit a bank to pay our bills but can do it online. In this way the physical distances between people become unimportant.^[17] Globalisation means that wherever we live our lives may be determined by forces that are outside our control. Theorists who take this position see globalization as a threat to different social and cultural histories and to collective and individual action.^[18] Globalists argue that attempts to resist the forces of globalization are doomed to failure, rather we should welcome changes such as new technologies which may help to reduce pollution in the world.

Internationalists are skeptical about these changes and argue against the idea that there has been a fundamental shift in social relations. They believe that nation states still have the power to order their own economies and determine their own welfare regimes. They do however point to the inequalities that women and unskilled workers may face due to the forces of big business and global capitalism. Transformationalists agree that to some extent nation states have remained autonomous but they also say that the effects of globalization cannot be dismissed. The effects of globalization are uncertain and uneven, they have produced changes in the way we live and these changes need to be studied. They argue that the forms of globalization are not necessarily irreversible but may call for new structures and forms of governance.

Conclusion

The late twentieth and early twenty first centuries have brought with them vast changes to life in Britain. In the early nineteen fifties people’s futures seemed secure and this security was bolstered by Government claims that the introduction of the welfare state meant that people would be looked after from the cradle to the grave. History shows that this was an over optimistic claim and the notion of full employment on which the welfare state was based has not been realized. In the last thirty years advances in many different areas have drastically changed life for a large percentage of the population. Religion is no longer so authoritative as it once was, and many children are not growing up in traditional families. In addition to these things Britain is now part of the European Union and contact with people of other nations is becoming a normal part of life. The notion of security that existed in the years following the war were based on idealistic visions of the future and this may be why we now view life as more uncertain.

Bibliography

Book 3 v2

Book 4 v.2

Book 5 v.2

Armstrong, K 1999 “Where has God gone” Newsweek 12^th July pp 56-7

Bellah, R 1970 Beyond Belief New York, Harper and Row

Berger, P. 1967 The Sacred Canopy New York, Doubleday

Giddens, A 1999 Runaway World, The BBC Reith Lectures London, BBC Radio 4, BBC Education

Phillips, M.. 1997 “Death of the Dad” The Observer 2^nd November 1997

1

Important contributions to sociological thinking about postmodernism emerged from several academics, some of whom considered themselves postmodernists and others who did not. This essay will discuss the origins of postmodernism and its views and focus primarily on the works of Jean-Francois Lyotard, Jean Baudrillard and poststructuralist Michel Foucault. In addition to this, criticisms of their work and their influences within social theory shall be analysed.

Postmodernism developed as a reaction to the inadequacies of the eighteenth century Enlightenment movement which held views about scientific positivism, the search for absolute truth, ultimate meaning and the nature of reality using rationality. Postmodernists are anti-essentialist and argue that an absolute scientific truth has been discredited as truths are multiple and always changing. The belief is that people no longer rely on science. In support of this, Fulcher & Scott (2003) argue that in 1962, Thomas Kuhn suggested that science creates its facts instead of providing given facts. He argued that scientists collaborated with other researchers who shared particular concepts and methods in common to bring about factual knowledge; Kuhn claims this tells scientists what to find in experiments and help explain observations that do not match their preconceived ideas. This view was developed further by Lyotard, which shall be discussed in more detail (Haralambos & Holborn, 2004). It is argued that the postmodern society is associated with pluralism, difference, uncertainty and cultural relativism as there is a vast choice of interpretations of the world surrounding humans. Moreover, individualism reigns and people find it difficult to form a real identity making them anxious and insecure (Jones et al. 2011, Giddens 2006, Bilton et al.2002, Connolly 2013, Boyne & Rattansi, 1990). Therefore, postmodernists stress for the need for local knowledge produced out of particular locations (Macionis & Plummer, 2nd edn).

Jean- Francois Lyotard (1995) stated ‘I define postmodern as incredulity toward metanarratives. This incredulity is undoubtedly a product of progress in the sciences’. This rejection of metanarratives is related to the postmodernist idea that there is no social theory that can provide absolute sociological knowledge. Meta-narratives which are big stories that seek to find the objective truth about society, provided by the likes of Emile Durkheim and Karl Marx who attempt to explain the social world in its entirety have been abandoned, as suggested by Lyotard. This involves scepticism towards the idea of history moving in the direction of progress, freedom and reason (Beyer 1992, Connolly 2013, Ritzer,).

Lyotard uses the concept of ‘language- games’. He argues that language is problematic as it does not provide a map for reality. With positivism however, language is considered to be a natural outlet to describe observations but postmodernists reject this notion as there are too many meanings for one word which are in constant flux. Lyotard argues that the Enlightenment brought about scientific denotative games whereby scientific statements are scrutinised by other scientists and rational argument is used to establish whether a statement should be accepted or rejected. The belief is that science can help humans to become more self-conscious. However, Lyotard rejects this view and argues that nowadays statements are judged not by whether they are true or not, but whether they are useful and efficient or not (Connolly 2013, Haralambos & Holborn, 2004).

On the other hand, Giddens (2006) argues that Jean Baudrillard sees society as characterised by simulations and hyper reality. The creation of simulacra attempt to reproduce reality and hype reality is a description of the social world in which simulations and simulacra become real and predominate. Society is dominated by media, technology and information which have created an empty world. Appignanesi et al. (2004) suggest that Baudrillard argues that this has reversed Marx’s theory that economic forces shape society. Instead, society is influenced by a constant flux of meaningless signs and images. Meaning is now created by the flow of images such as in TV programmes, pop music and so forth. Individuals now respond to media images rather than to real people or places. These provide impermanent multiples of reality to consume (Haralambos & Holborn, 2004, Kirby 2000, Agger, 1991 and Giddens 2009). Jones et al. (2011) argue that this breakdown between reality and knowledge is part of people’s knowledge in the postmodern world as suggested by Baudrillard. He calls this ‘the dissolution of life into TV’ (cited in Giddens, 2006: 115). In addition he states, ‘TV watches us, TV alienates us, TV manipulates us, and TV informs us (Haralambos & Holborn, 2004, p. 976). Baudrillard is pessimistic about the future and does not believe in socialism as suggested by Marx. He views the masses as being gradually more passive. Thus, life is led toward nihilism (Ritzer, 2008). In contrast, Lyotard is optimistic about these new changes. Unfortunately, Baudrillard’s work has been criticised for being highly abstract and relies upon examples to illustrate arguments (Haralambos & Holborn, 2004).

Alternatively, associated with post structuralism is Michel Foucault who incorporated a variety of theoretical insights, particularly from Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzsche. Like Nietzsche, he was particularly interested in the relationship between power and knowledge. Foucault pays particular attention to the techniques that are developed from scientific knowledge and how they are used by various institutions to exert power over people via surveillance, enforcement and discipline. His work is known as Foucault’s archaeology where he sets about making sense of the familiar by looking into the past. He sees history moving from one system of domination based on knowledge to another. He suggests that there is no history but a multiple, overlapping and interactive series of legitimate vs. excluded histories. One example he suggests is that there are increases in the ability of the sane and their agents such as psychologists to oppress and repress the mad, who initially used to be viewed to possess a ‘gift’ (Ritzer 2008, Marsh et al. 2009, Giddens, 2006, Macionis & Plummer 2002, Jones et al. 2011, Appignanesi et al. 2004). This means that what counts as true, morally right is relative to a particular time, place and power struggle; truth changes according to whoever is powerful enough to define it (Jones et al. 2011). Foucault developed the concept of discourse by drawing upon the work of Claude Levi-Strauss who argued that language originates in the unconscious human mind. Furthermore, culture is also the creation of the same unconscious thought processes. Culture is therefore like language. Thus there is nothing in social life that is a result of the creation of the imaginative mind. Human beings are not the authors of their life stories as these are written for them in language and in culture which exist independently of individuals. Therefore social reality is defined by structural influences as a system of language external to the actor. This link between thought, language, knowledge and action Foucault summarizes with the phrase ‘discursive practises’ (Jones et al, 2011).

Fulcher and Scott (2003) argue that Foucault and Lyotard’s works are often linked as they both reject the idea that there are constraining structures in social life and recognise fragmentation and diversity in cultural and social life. Foucault’s writings have been influential in furthering research into power and knowledge across the social sciences (Ritzer, 2008). His approach to analysing the relationship between truths, meaning and power has shaped the theoretical and research agendas of the social sciences’ Jones et al. (2011) (p. 128). Moreover, Agger argued that ‘Foucault has made direct empirical contributions to social sciences where he has studied the discourse/practices of prisons (1977) and sexuality (1978). This research supports his argument.

Overall, postmodernism is criticized for being untestable, superficial, fragmented, relativistic, abstract and lacking depth. A consequence of this is that people are unable to make sense of an increasingly complex society. In addition to this, Giddens (1990 cited in Bilton et al. (2002) argues that the postmodernist account of contemporary society is contradictory because Lyotard and Baudrillard’s arguments are based on uncertainty. Furthermore, Giddens criticises postmodernist approaches for rejecting the notion that humans are creative agents with an active part in shaping their social worlds. The view that an absolute break with past has occurred, as suggested by Baudrillard, has been solidly rejected by most sociologists, as he was unable to identify the point of separation between modernity and postmodernity or provide a clear account of the move into postmodern society. This inadequacy may have led sceptical sociologists like Giddens (1991) and Beck (1999) to go for terms such as ‘late modernity’ to describe the social changes representative of contemporary society. Other criticisms by Greg Philo and David Miller suggest postmodernism’s inability to account for social causation and the implication of factors such as the economy. Instead, the focus was only on surface portrayals of social change and missing the impact of deep social structures and growing inequalities which should not be ignored within sociology. Moreover, Philo and Miller argue that Baudrillard is said to pretend as though media images have no connection with reality at all. In their research, they found that media audiences are well aware of the difference between reality and TV images. Philo and Miller abandon the postmodern impression that people are free to consume, do as they wish and recreate identities as they please. They believe that people are still very much inhibited and shaped by structures such as the capitalist economy. Postmodernists ignore that culture is shaped by the capitalist economy (Haralambos & Holborn, 2004). Another criticism is brought forward by Jurgen Habermas who rejects the arguments of postmodernism notion that it is impossible to understand the social world rationally (Kirby, 2000).

Nevertheless, the biggest contribution of postmodernism may lie in its methodological approach in denying both the search for absolute truths and an emphasis on finding the foundations of social occurrences. Instead, the postmodern approach suggests that the influence of authority and power need to be analysed in social theory, with the intention of concentrating on the uncovered social conditions of marginalised groups of society (Ritzer, 1997). Additionally, Agger argues that postmodern approaches have been effective critiques of positivism, interrogating taken for granted assumptions about science. However, postmodernism has not produced a concrete version to replace positivist classical theories.

In conclusion, Foucault has shown through his studies how knowledge was historically established through his concept of discourses. Baudrillard’s analysis has been suggested to possibly enhance research in the social sciences on culture and the media (Agger, 1991) and Lyotard has shown how science is just one of the many discourses currently in power to control people.

Postmodernism Identity FormationIdentity Formation in the Postmodern World
Abstract

This work shall look at the idea of identity formation in the post modern world. First, at definitions of postmodernism and identity formation, and then moving on to describe how identities are formed. To be discussed in particular, are Giddens’ sense of the “reflexive self” and Hall’s theory of the ‘crisis of the self’, drawing upon examples from recreational drug use and looking at how consumption and globalisation have led to multiple narrative representations of self.

Chapter 1
Introduction: Postmodernism and Identity Formation

What is post modernity? Postmodernism; a reaction to modernism; is a state (or complex set of states) that lacks a clear organizing principle which embodies complexity, contradiction, ambiguity and interconnectedness. It is, perhaps, essentially, the embodiment of a general dissatisfaction with modernity, reflecting fundamental changes in attitudes towards what has gone in the past and towards long-held beliefs.

Everyone, it seems, has a different view of what post-modernism actually is. Postmodernism has different definitions in different research areas and according to different academics within these different research arenas. Some academics even disagree about the presence of post-modernity, arguing that postmodernism does not exist.

Giddens (1991), for example, prefers to use the term ‘post-traditionalist’ to describe the state of society at the moment. Postmodernism is, to some, a world view, whereas to others, it is little more than a ‘buzz word’ (Hebdige, 2006).

Kirby (2006) builds on this sentiment of Hebdige (2006). He argues that, following the rise of pseudo-modernism, postmodernism is dead, whilst other authors argue that postmodernism was never a movement, rather only “…the rough outline of a set of self-referential ideals than a genuine cultural movement.” (Willis, 2007, p.44). Many have called postmodernism meaningless, in its most profound sense, as the movement as a whole (if, indeed, it can be called a “movement”), adds nothing to our collective knowledge base.

However this phenomenon is labelled, the idea of identity formation in this changing, ‘post modern’ atmosphere is of interest. How do individuals, in this fractured, multi-narrative society, form their identities? This is certainly a topic that continues to grow in sociological significance, as the factors and conditions pertaining to the construction of our identities have changed, diversified, spread and become more dynamic in this ‘post modern’ world.

Identity formation is the process by which a person develops a personality that is distinct from that of other people. This process serves to define an individual, not only to others, but also to the individual them self (see Levine et al., 2002). In terms of how this definition is maintained, the identity is actuated through a process of development of uniqueness, reinforced through continuity and affiliation (see Levine et al., 2002). The process of identity formation ultimately leads to the notion of personal identity, where identity is forged through individualism and an understanding of one’s own self-concept (see Levine et al., 2002).

What is identity in a post modern world? For many, identity is now a fluid concept, an open question, a construct that is built as one moves along, according to one’s environment and one’s interests and interactions, be these physical or virtual. In a post modern sense, the self is shifting, fluid, or as Berzonsky (2005) argues, identity is dynamic, multiplistic, relativistic, context-specific and fragmented (Berzonsky, 2005). Further, Berzonsky (2005) states, ego identity may serve as a way in which individuals reach out from a personal standpoint in this fractured, post-modern world.

As Kellner (1995) and Featherstone (1991) argue, identity, in the post-modern world, is closely identified with the active consumption of products that are offered to individuals by the media and leisure industries (Ott, 2003). Several academics, whilst disagreeing on the mechanism for this, agree that socio – cultural factors and forces, that structure difference and subsequently create the boundaries essential to identity, have changed dramatically in recent decades (Ott, 2003; see Kellner, 1995; Rosenau, 1992 and Van Poecke, 1996).

As Poster states, “…a post-modern society is emerging which nurtures forms of identity different from, or even opposite to, those of modernity.” (Ott, 2003, p.58). As Kellner (1995) argues, “…one is a mother, a son, a Texan, a Scot, a professor, a socialist, a Catholic, a lesbian – or rather a combination of these social roles and possibilities. Identities are thus still relatively fixed and limited, though the boundaries of possible identities, of new identities, are continually expanding.” (Ott, 2003, p.63).

As the mode of economics shifts from goods-based to service-based, from centralized mass-production to a trans-national, globalise and production, individuals are less likely to locate their identities in pre-given categories and ascribed roles, such that “…class, gender and ethnicity decline in social significance” (see Crook et al., 1992, p.84), whilst the active consumption of ideas and styles grows in importance (see Kellner, 1995).Such that, difference – and, through this – identity, is now defined and affirmed through consumer choice, and, ultimately, therefore, through consumption (see Ott, 2003).

As Ott (2003) argues, the culture industry performs two main functions in terms of identity formation: it provides consumers with explicit identity models showing them how to be, and also provides consumers with the symbolic resources with which to (re)construct their identities. Cultural media, such as television, magazines and general advertising, consequently come to shape the nature of identity, by providing identity models and the symbolic resources for the enactment of the chosen identity (Ott, 2003).

As Ott (2003) argues this purchasing of identity can lead to serious problems, such as losing sight of oneself: as Ott (2003, p. 74) states, in his analysis of The Simpson’s as an exemplifier of postmodern identity construction, “Homer eats, Homer drinks, Homer belches, but, in reality, there is nothing called ‘Homer’ beyond the eating, drinking and belching.

There is no being behind the doing. Homer is just the sum of his actions and no more….In this mode, the subject evaporates and all social and political action becomes futile and absurd.”. Similarly, in the postmodern world, where identity formation is so closely linked to consumerism, it is easy to lose sight of ones true self, in the midst of so many identities that, through the media, are thrown at one.

Although, as Berzonsky (2005) contends, ego identity may serve as a way in which individuals reach out from a personal standpoint in a fractured, postmodern world, through which an individual’s sense of self is preserved, as something that is, yes, adapted by consumerism but which is, essentially, the product of one’s own experiences and decisions regarding ‘self’, Further, ego identity can provide a personal standpoint for acting and decision-making in the fractured, fluid, postmodern world.

For Berzonsky (2005), therefore, identity is a fluid concept in the postmodern sense. There can, however, be no multiple identities for, by definition, identity is “…a singularity, fixed on some dimension that is conserved over time and place” (Berzonsky, 2005, p. 133). As Berzonsky (2005) states, then, there cannot be multiple identities, rather only multiple aspects of one’s personality, something that is exposed through consumerism, with different purchases allowing individuals to express different facets of their personalities.

In summary, identity formation in the postmodern age has arisen from, and is dependent on, consumerism as a driving force. In Berzonsky’s opinion, “…the quest to achieve a sense of identity is important because we live in a relativistic, postmodern age of continual social, political, economic and technological change, which requires continually shifting expressions of one’s self.” (Berzonsky, 2005, p.133).

Whilst postmodernism requires fluidity, this fluidity arises as different responses to ever-changing stimuli, through changing expressions in the different facets of an individual’s multi-faceted personality. Berzonsky’s (2005) view of identity formation in the postmodern world is not as pessimistic as that presented by Ott (2003), which suggests that nothing but a vacuum exists at the core of an individual, but both theoretical approaches to identity formation in postmodern times rely on the development of multiple narratives as a way of dealing with the fluidity of concepts that postmodernism presents to individuals. Subsequent sections of the work will concentrate on expanding these ideas further.

Chapter 2
Literature Review & Methodology

This section will describe how the literature review, which forms the basis of this work, was conducted, in terms of the methodology used to search for, and use, the literature that forms the basis of this work. This section explains exactly how the literature review was performed, in terms of what was done practically in order to find the literature that has been used as the basis for this work. This section essentially describes the methodology that was used to provide an analysis of the specific research question of interest in this work, i.e., “How is identity formed in this postmodern world?”

A literature review is, essentially, a classification and a thorough evaluation of the most relevant works that have previously been published on a particular subject. The literature review is usually organized depending on the particular research objective, so that it presents a systematic, comprehensive review of the work that has been previously published on that specific topic of interest.

From this basis, decisions as to what further research needs to be conducted on the specific topic of interest can be made, from the thorough understanding of the previous works on this subject. A full understanding of the existing literature provides not only a comprehensive review of the existing literature but will also enable the researcher to decide what specific sub-topics, for example, need further investigation.

In this way, therefore, a literature review can inform not only the current research plans but also map the way for future research. After due consideration to the human resources and time frame necessary to collect primary empirical evidence that would prove pertinent to this specific study, adopting a completely literature-based library approach was deemed the most efficient and pragmatic method of research.

Within the scope of this work, ‘the literature’ refers not only to literature such as textbooks, and specialist academic books, but also to the relevant research literature, via published journal articles. A review of the literature that is relevant to the research question of interest thus serves many purposes, including, as has been seen, showing how the current research programme fits in with previous research on the topic, presenting alternate views in order to allow an evaluation of how the proposed research should proceed, and, finally, showing that all of the relevant, previous, work on the current research topic has been evaluated and has been fully understood, validating the current research programme through the support of previously published work (see Hart, 1999).

A literature review is usually conducted before starting any new academic research, because, as has been seen, a thorough review of the literature provides a comprehensive overview of what research has been performed, and provides further information, such as how other researchers have analysed or solved similar problems. In this sense, a literature review is a simple review of the existing literature on a subject but is also an evaluation of this work and the relationships between the existing works (Hart, 1999).

The literature review also allows an evaluation of the relationship between the research that is being proposed and the existing research, giving the researcher food for thought, based on what has gone previously. In this sense, reviewing the literature puts the work that is being proposed in to context by asking any number of relevant questions, concerning what is already known about the topic of interest, what the relationships are between the key ideas, what ideas already exist in terms of understanding the topic, what evidence is needed to finally reach a conclusion and contribution the proposed research will make to the literature (see Hart, 1999).

This exercise, whilst it can be thought of as time-consuming, can be valuable in terms of deciding what problems to approach in the course of the research, how to approach these problems, and how to present the literature review once the relevant literature has been searched, evaluated and summarised (Krathwohl, 1988).

Reviewing previous work can, therefore, provide a practical guide as to how the research one is conducting should proceed, from before the research begins in earnest until its final completion (Madsen, 1992).

The main aim of a thorough review of the literature, as outlined in this section, is to search out and locate relevant literature, to read and to analyse the information that has been found, to evaluate the information, through finding the relevant information in the literature, in terms of positioning the previous literature within the framework of the research that is about to be undertaken (Muskal, 2000).

This requires many skills, such as knowing how to retrieve the necessary information, gathering and organizing the information, being able to critically appraise this information and developing further research questions once the information has been gathered and evaluated (Fink, 2004).

Standard bibliographic databases can be used in order to search relevant literature (Hart, 1999). If, for example, one wishes to find out about how identity is formed in the postmodern world, one would first need to know something about identity formation and postmodernism in general and would thus enter these as search terms. One would then wait for the database to return the details of any relevant, existing, literature.

Such general search terms would normally provide millions of unspecific articles, and, if this is the case, the search terms can be narrowed by entering more specific search terms, for example, ‘identity formation and postmodernism’ or ‘Antony Giddens’. The usual procedure is to enter narrower and narrower search terms until such a point that only literature containing specific information, on the specific research topic of interest, are returned.

These would be the articles that would then be looked at in detail, or used as the basis of other searches. For example, a ‘Citation’ search can be performed, which will return other related articles that focuses on the specific topic of interest that have cited the original article as a reference. This type of searching will obviously return more recent work that has referenced the original research article in some way, either through using the article as the basis for their own research or using the results of the article to support some new findings.

The results from searching the bibliographic database(s) should then be collected together, as these will form the basis of the review of the literature in any further academic work on this topic. Bibliographic database searching is an accepted research tool, and, as such, is a well-recognised ethical research tool (Anson and Schwegler, 2000).

In terms of how the literature for this work was sought for, terms such as ‘postmodernist identity’, ‘Giddens’ and ‘identity formation’ were used as search terms, amongst many others. Web of Science was used as the bibliographic database. This database contains references to most articles published in the last century, covering the fields of psychology and philosophy, amongst others. In terms of deciding which literature to following the bibliographic database search, various criteria were used to assess whether the literature should be included or not.

The literature that was returned following the bibliographic database search was read if it was of general interest to the subject i.e., if it contained any information on identity formation and postmodernism, and if the literature was recent (i.e., published within the last fifteen years) because only recent articles would contain up-to-date information.

This literature was useful in contextualizing the research, in terms of providing a general overview of the topic. The literature that was used in this work was selected if it included specific information on identity formation and postmodernism. A list of the literature used in the work is given in the References section, at the end of the work.

In terms of how the work of others can be incorporated in to one’s own research, it is necessary to build upon the work of other researchers in order for knowledge, on a particular subject, to be advanced. Research proceeds in this way; by using the work of others as a starting point; so that research is not repeated and so that research moves in a positive direction, building constructively on the work of others (Krathwohl, 1988).

Using the work of others through the development of a literature-based work is, therefore, entirely ethical, on the condition that the previous work is referenced and cited correctly within the subsequent work (Madsen, 1992). On this basis, then, the bibliographic database searches and the use of literature of interest is a valid protocol for conducting research.

Chapter 3
Examples of Postmodern Identity Formation
Recreational Drug Culture

One example of the formation of identity in the postmodern world is the taking of recreational drugs. The taking of recreational drugs increased with the development of the dance and rave scene in the 1980s, increasing during the development of the ‘clubbing’ scene.

Polls indicate that up to 79% of clubbers have taken recreational drugs at some point in their lives, with ecstasy, cannabis and cocaine being the most widely-used recreational drugs. Although ketamine, heroin and GBH were also mentioned in the responses to the survey (Home Office Survey, 2003).

The same survey (Home Office, 2003) found that the majority of the individuals interviewed felt that drug-taking was an integral part of their lives, which heightened their clubbing experience. Most of the interviewees admitting using recreational drugs and drinking alcohol on the same night every time they go clubbing.

This finding is not to say that drug-taking is as widespread in the general youth population, because many youths are not ‘clubbers’ and are thus perhaps, not involved in the drug scene (see Measham et al., 2001), however, recreational drug-taking is a huge part of many young people’s lives, the way in which they express themselves and identify themselves to others. Why?

What encourages recreational drug use amongst young people? Coggans and McKellar (1994) look at drug use amongst young people, reviewing the importance of ‘peer pressure’ in the onset of illicit drug use; finding that there is little actual evidence for a causal relationship and that, as such, the role of individual choice in drug taking needs to be analysed.

As Coggans and McKellar (1994) suggest, individuals are free to choose to take recreational drugs, whether or not this is bound to social interaction with peers or not, and the choice to do so is not, therefore, necessarily a function of peer pressure.

Novacek et al. (1991) looked at the use of recreational drugs amongst adolescents, finding that there were five main explanations as to why adolescents admit to using recreational drugs: for a sense of belonging, to cope with problems they are having, for pleasure, for enhancing creativity and to cope with the aggression they feel inside themselves. The different reasons corresponding to the frequency with which drugs are used.

In addition, Novacek et al. (1991) found that there were age- and gender-specific relationships between drug use and the reasons behind the drug use, with older males, for example, more likely to admit to using drugs for pleasure, and younger girls more likely to admit to using drugs to foster a sense of belonging.

Dorn (1975) looks at the different functions and varieties of possible explanations for drug use, finding that society has to give a label to drug use (that is usually wholly negative), in order to decide upon how to prosecute drug use. This is affected through the development of policies to achieve social control, and how to treat drug users in need of help.

As Dorn (1975) argues, there are, however, many and varied reasons why individuals take to drugs, including social and economic perspectives, and personal events which lead to the individual deciding to try drugs. Each of these routes to drug use says something about the identity the individual has fostered for themselves and, as such, represents a distinct route to identity formation.

As Duff (2004) argues, recreational drug use is no more than a ‘practice of the self’, as Foucault would say, an expression of one’s self and, as such, should be dealt with using ‘ethics of moderation’ and not as an illegal blight on society. As Duff (2004) argues, referencing Foucault and his ideas of pleasure gives a different perspective on recreational drug use, helping to understand the changing nature of recreational drug use amongst young people, and thus providing new conceptual frameworks with which to attempt to derive policies for controlling drug use.

Duff (2005) continues this reasoning, looking at recreational drug use amongst what she terms ‘party people’, finding (in common with Home Office, 2003) that, amongst this group of young people, drug use has been ‘normalised’, becoming a normal part of their leisure time, as normal as having a beer, for example, or smoking a cigarette.

As Duff (2005) argues, this normalization has implications for policy development in terms of harm minimization programmes. For the youth sampled by Duff (2005), recreational drugs have passed from being something dangerous and illegal, to something that is normal and acceptable amongst their peer group, and the wider society in which they mingle.

For the young people who take recreational drugs regularly, therefore, drugs are part and parcel of their identity formation in our post-modern times.

There is no question that they should not, for various reasons, be taking these drugs: for them, it is absolutely normal behaviour, with their safety being protected and assured through buying their drugs of choice from friends (see, also, Sherlock and Conner, 1999).

This easy, secure, access to the drugs perhaps explains the ease and comfort with which respondents admit their drug taking and use their drugs: for them, it is a natural, safe, thing to be doing, a natural part of their social lives. Many of them do not question the fact that they take drugs: it is as natural to them as any other part of the lifestyle they have chosen for themselves (Duff, 2005).

Jay (1999) looks at the issue of why young people take recreational drugs, arguing from the traditional medical framework, which suggests that people take drugs because they become addicted to them and from a newer perspective, which suggests that people take drugs for pleasure (see, also, Parker et al., 1998).

The latter hypothesis seems to make sense. It is, after all, the recreational drugs that give pleasure which consequently, give fewer records of abusive behaviour associated with them. The use of recreational drugs for pleasure has even been noted in the animal kingdom (Jay, 1999; see Siegel, 1989).

As Jay (1999) further argues, embellished in this idea of pleasure being the main motivation for recreational drug use is the fact that society has, in general, become more adventurous and accommodating as a whole. This general societal climate has led to the atmosphere in which young people grow up assuming experimentation with recreational drugs is acceptable behaviour, becoming a part of their formative years when they are forming their own identity.

They, of course, realize taking recreational drugs is illegal and potentially dangerous, but, as shown by Duff (2005), they minimize the risks by ensuring supply from trusted peers and pass off the illegality issue through references to greater, unpunished, crimes going on around them and the fact that alcohol – now legal – was also illegal only a few decades ago.

As such, the issues of drug use being illegal is not really a concern for them, as their drug use is considered, by them, to be a normal part of their lives, for which, if they keep it low-profile and at a personal level, they are highly unlikely to be punished.

McCrystal et al. (2006) looks at drug use patterns amongst 11 to 12 year olds, finding that there are high levels of drug use in these ages of children, many of whom appear to be otherwise ‘good’ students. These students use drugs for many and varied reasons, many of which are centred around pleasure seeking and relieving boredom. Very few cases of peer pressure were reported.

Although there were suggestions that drug use had become a normal occurrence amongst this group of children, similar to other studies already discussed (such as Jay, 1999 and Duff, 2005). Similar findings were reported by Bahora et al. (2008), who looked at ecstasy use in the United States, concluding that the use of ecstasy amongst those surveyed was regarded as normal behaviour, as something that ‘everyone does’. Again, recreational drug use is a way of forming one’s identity; of identifying oneself with other recreational drugs users, of being accepted into that section of society.

In conclusion, recreational drugs are used widely by youth across the world, a large proportion of whom are assumed to be connected with the dance scene in some way. That said, it is also known that children as young as 11 or 12 are using cannabis on a regular basis (see McCrystal et al., 2006), the ‘drug problem’ is not just confined to clubbers. Many reasons have been put forward as motivators of drug use in this essay; peer pressure, curiosity about what effects the drugs will have on them, a sense of belonging, to cope with problems youth may be having, for pleasure, for enhancing creativity and to cope with the aggression they feel inside themselves.

The different reasons largely corresponding to the frequency with which drugs are used (see Novacek et al., 1991). It has also been seen that people have stated that they take drugs because it is considered normal to do so, is nothing out of the ordinary, that ‘everyone does it’ and so, therefore, them too (see, for example, Duff, 2005). Thus, there are many and varied reasons as to why people start taking, and continue using recreational drugs, all of which have a basis in forging identity.

Chapter 4
Consumption and Identity

Dunn (1999) argues that postmodernism has led to a shift in the bases for identity formation, something that itself, per se, marks the post-modern era. As Lyon (2000) so eloquently phrases it: “…we are recipients of entertainment, shopping for a self.” (Lyon, 2000, p.75). Developments in information technology and the ability to shop anywhere, any time, have reduced time and space, meaning that we now demand the ability to access information in an instant.

People are on demand “24/7”, leading to reconfigurations of how we view ourselves and our place in the world. We are in a world which we feel we know much better, a world which is virtually available at the touch of a button (or the swish of a mouse), on demand. Information on anything anyone is interested in can be found instantly. Through this open, instantaneous, process, we feel we are part of a much larger culture than our long-established, local selves.

For Lyon (2000), in his book Jesus in Disneyland; Religion in Post-Modern Times,it is a complex social situation in which some of the dynamics inherited from modernism are inherited and in which some are distorted beyond recognition. For Lyon (2000) postmodernism has been defined by the development of information technology and social networking and the rise of consumerism. Information technology has made the world smaller, has made identities more fragmented and consumerism has allowed us to express ourselves like never before.

This process, whilst connecting individuals with more people, information and places than ever before, can mean that people become less connected with real – physical, intimate, face-to-face, relationships, leading to social isolation. McPherson et al. (2001) showed, for example, that Americans have significantly less friends than they did two decades ago, with social isolation increasing as a result of this.

However, McPherson and Smith-Lovin’s (1987) hypothesis of homophily – that friends are similar in character and identity – still holds for ‘virtual’ friends. Members of online forums, for example, who become close over cyberspace: similar people will always band together, with people’s personal networks being homogeneous with regards to many socio-demographic factors and interpersonal characteristics (see McPherson et al., 2001).

“The times they are a-changing” sang Bob Dylan, and nowhere is that truer than now, where children plug themselves in to their iPods, downloading music as they wish, accessing information on the internet as and when they desire. It is possible to now parcel the world into discrete pockets, according to your own desires.

Technology has allowed individuals the choice of how, and when, they want to communicate, closing off from other commuters with an iPod, sharing common musical tastes with cyber-friends, again through the iPod, joining in online forums if that is what they want to do. Choice is everywhere, choice is expected, as a fundamental right of this generation.

Through choice, through the freedom of expression that is around, through blogs, for example, and through online forums that are available for almost any specialist interest, from internet sites like You Tube and My Space, individuals can choose who they want to interact with and when they want to interact with them.

For many young persons, this ‘artificial’, cyber life, is their life. It may not be a life that would be recognizable to their grandparents, nor even understood by their parents, but that is their reality. They choose to live like that, maintaining multiple narratives with individuals they have actively chosen to communicate with.

Social isolation is not a concern for these individuals: they drive their own pathway through their lives, interacting with whom they want to interact, when they want to interact, shunning physical relationships in favour of what they consider to be more meaningful virtual relationships.

Individuals are opting out of physical interactions with people they don’t want to interact with (neighbours, commuters etc) in favour of their own world, through their he

CONTEMPORARY PARENTING ESSAY

Contemporary Parenting?

The post-modern society has been created out of a backdrop of pluralism, democracy, religious freedom, consumerism, mobility, and a plethora of technological advancements. Participants in this post-modern era are able to see that there are many structured and unstructured beliefs, multiple concepts of reality, and an a wide construct of world views; a society that has lost its faith in absolute truth, where it is cool to have doubt as a constant companion and in which people have the right and necessity to choose what to believe (O’Hare and Anderson 1991).

The decade of the 1970s, Shorter (1975) appears to have been the first to deconstruct the concept of family for a more liberal emerging post-modern family. Shorter to this end, cited three clearly conceptualised characteristics: adolescent indifference to the family’s identity; instability in the lives of couples, accompanied by rapidly increasing divorce rates; and destruction of the “nest” notion of nuclear family life with the liberation of women. In that 70’s era, Shorter cited limited reconstructions in patterns of child socialization. The liberating movement for women in the deconstruction of mothers caring for young children in the home to the use of state subsidized paid child care providers, with the mother entering once again into the world of paid employment.

‘The Children’s plan: Building Better Futures’ offers clear and comprehensive explanations of ‘why’ such legislative procedures are necessary to engage parents in ensuring that children are, educated and protected in a 21^st century Britain. This groundbreaking report concentrates on several aspects of children’s rights, in particular having listened to the needs of parents, in particular, the now common diversity of ‘family’ and ‘parenting’ that is no longer ‘cereal packet’, nuclear or indeed symmetrical in models, that was bespoken of previous generations (Abercrombie & Warde 2000). What is apparent, is that ‘family and ‘parenting’ is not vastly different and extremely contemporary. Through the ‘Every Child Matters’ pilot programme, it has been proven by substantive research that: “Families are substantively, the bedrock of society and the place for nurturing happy, capable and resilient children: “In our consultation, parents made it clear that they would like better and more flexible information and support that reflects the lives they lead” DfCSF (p.5).

There are five core principles of these directives to engage and protect children’s rights offers carefully planned concepts that will become the foundations for better children’s services that are enshrined in law to be protective. The specific principle that supports parents is simply: ‘Government does not bring up children – parents do – so’. This fundamental tenet is of importance in the decoding and reconstruction of the notion of parenting in which the new concept in deconstruction of the notion of ‘family’, in particular the heterosexual family unit, for a more liberalised notion of family that embraced, single-parent, surrogate-motherhood, and gay and lesbian families, and other less popular variants of the post-modern family; in some quarters, these have been viewed as the negative results of the changed noted above, or more fundamentally, as the breakdown products, of a pluralist society. Other conceptual factors can be noted as follows: Despondence with the societal norms of human progress that had embedded modern society, with the unifying benefits and regularity of the comforting moral fabric; affecting the notion of a lack of faith in the previously established order.

The study by Edwards & Gillies (2005), is mindful of core factors in parenting practices, albeit, lack of. ‘Resources in Parenting: Access to Capitals’ conducted to conceptualize an explicit policy focus for parenting, and the fundamental need for a meaningful gathering of cohesive norms and values about responsible parenting practice, as well as significant worries about the reality and creation of social capital. Moreover, they saw social change as the causal effect of weakened and broken support systems that, involved a greater failure in maintaining, parental/family and community reciprocal obligations, that saw a divergence of widespread uncertainty in new parents understanding their roles and responsibilities. But, the most stark consequences of poor parenting, amongst, younger single parents was a lack of professional instruction in learning/understanding the skills comprising good parenting practices.

The deconstruction of economic foundations underlying social conformity, for example, the need for women to marry well to stand against hardship financially and to stratify their class status to the next generation, or the need to become mothers in wedlock for them to be benefactors of family estate, that would be their core foundation of livelihood. The fundamental re-construction of the electronic age, through access to computerised media, which both inspired and legitimise the post-modern new era family reconfiguring and in doing so the conceptualisation of modern parenting which at best can be seen as contemporary; that may involve single adults, same sex parents or indeed older grandparents taking on parental role in later life, where younger parents, who formed ‘comprised ‘contemporary parenting models’ are less able to cope with parenting in which they were subjugating responsibilities close friends and even less able friends, which in effect, makes some clarity of Edwards & Gillies (2005) study, in which the closeness of the extended family was seen to be diluted and in many case study examples, notional or non-existent.

With the ability to bring the world closer together in a plethora of technological advancement, one might see the advent of contemporary support networks for parents, accessible, but, where it has reduced the separations effect that was imposed between people by physical distance, physical barriers, and social barriers, electronic communications and other media has created a ‘global village’ world that in the post-modern era, contrives to foster anonymous intimacy through internet talk, virtual advice columns, electronic mail, computer bulletin boards. In some part also providing provided advisory/counselling and other personal services available through a wealth of mediums, which are not necessitated through face-to-face contact or encounter.

The focused anonymous and instant intimacy has encroached into the world of contemporary parenting in which instant advice for parents in crisis can come from a wealth of ‘do good ad-hoc advisors’ where in-experienced parents, moreover, single parents, are engaged in anonymous social support, networking, and telecommunications, in which no names are mentioned, and anonymity is the key concept in this technological age. Thereby, creating a virtual world in which the poorly skilled parent grasps at ‘ad hoc’ advise that is often misleading, creating a systemic growth in poor practice and engagement of child protection systems, that in recent periods have been seen to be lacking. Moreover, we are seeing in some recent cases (Clembie, Baby P etc), the professional engaged in ‘child care support structure’ are not parents, and often work to ‘textbook’ scenarios to aide real families, stringent target drivers and outcomes, which result in many cases of neglect, poor practices and care (Utting 2007). Therefore, with the demise of the ‘cereal packet’, nuclear and symmetrical family models, parenting in part is becoming another casualty of modern society, in which the state is engaging in providing incentives to stemming the tide of poor childcare practices through projects like: Every Child Matters, Sure Start and First Start, in the hope of engaging contemporary less able, less economically viable parents to be ‘good parents’ (Gillies 2005, Utting 2007 & DfCSF 2007).

Utting’s study in 2007 for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) found many situations where contemporary parents were unable to cope of feel secure in asking for professional assistance, for fear of reprisals. Moreover, he found that those parents in most need were less likely to access support, for a plethora of reasons: trust, access, availability, venue, age of professional, prejudice and even poor recommendations. But, starkly, ‘fear’ of professionals taking over childcare was a predominant factor where single younger parents lived in significant levels of poverty.

Gergen (1991) once described the post-modern family form as “the saturated family,” whose participants feel their lives scattering in intensified busyness. In addition to taking in an explosion of exposure to a world of deconstructed values, attitudes, opinions, lifestyles, and personalities, family members have become embedded in a world that has enshrined the conceptualisation of multiplicity of relationships. The technologies that now embed our social saturation (e.g. the car, telephone, television, and jet plane) have created deconstructed, and in part, dysfunctional concept of what is family, in a soup of consistent turmoil and a sense of fragmentation, chaos, and discontinuity.

The concept of ‘family’ is no longer a ‘cereal packet’ picture of a cosy environment in which parenting is a gentle and professional time honoured art, with extended family involvement. We are now seeing the demise of the family as previously known, with more diversity in the parenting model, for a more fluid and protracted notion where children are raised in contemporary parenting models: singles, teenage, unmarried, same sex etc. Some such models are sound; in particular where the parents are engaged and proactive in ensuring strong values and child raising practices, this is seen in may aspects of single professional parent households. Gay/Lesbian adoptive parents are often slighted by fundamental groups as poor models, or indeed, dysfunctional models, but, on the contrary, many gay/lesbian parents are proving to be stricter and more disciplined raising children who are well rounded and more able to cope with a contemporary world (Gillies 2005 & Utting 2007). Nevertheless, in comparison in often teenage/less educated households, where poverty is a clear factor, remarkably it is not the ‘poverty’ that tends to be the rationale for poor parenting, it is the causal effects of: stress, depression, illness, low income and poor networks that impact of disturbing and disrupting good practices (Utting 2007). Utting’ found in his extensive study of academic case studies, that at best, most contemporary parenting models were sound, and where they were not, significant dysfunctional factors like alcohol and drug dependence by parents was a contributing factor, but, in the main, where parents were in diverse less affluent circumstances: poor housing, dysfunctional communities, health/care issues, nevertheless, desire the best for their children.

With the diversity in childcare provision, where it in shared between the contemporary family and day care, new problems have arisen. While some children thrive on dual socialisation, others fail, unable to grasp either the environment or to the demands of daily transition from one environment to the other. The young child may be unable to form the necessary communication link between the two environments. Responsibilities now blurred and are seen to be divided between home and care centre; as a result, neither may be providing some crucial aspects of child development. For example, neither the care centre nor working parents may perceive themselves in charge of helping the child to develop the capacity to exercise self-control nor of teaching the child basic social comportment, such as table manners, greeting rituals, narration of daily events, and interview skills required for social orientation. This interesting conceptualisation has led the state to provide clarity and support through its extensive children’s legislation, regulation and project provision, in the hope that those parents who are able to retain employment are enabled to ensure safe and professional support for their children. Equally, those less enabled parents are encouraged through projects like ‘sure start’ to offer, guide and support learning in parenting skills, whilst improving education and learning that potentially will empower the parent to seek new skills and employment/advancement.

The focus of parent education was development of the whole child. In contrast, parenting in the post-modern world is perceived as a learned technique with specific strategies for dealing with particular issues. The target has shifted from the whole child to developing the child’s positive sense of self-esteem. In the modern era, parents made the effort to fit advice to the particular needs of the child; Elkind (1992) points out that the directive post-modern techniques may be easier for parents but the child may be deprived of customized treatment. Moreover, he strongly believes that the focus on the whole child should not be lost. Interestingly in this era of contemporary parenting, we are finding diversity at the core of parent development (Utting 2007).

The family home, is found to be no longer a refuge of harmony, serenity, and understanding, as a once cosy modern era projected, has become in many post-modern constructs the site of confrontation between people of different ages and genders, who have personal ideologies and social constructs that are as diversely suspended as misplaced objects in an untidy drawer. Many self-help organizations, cash in on this deconstructed and dysfunctional family to bring ground rules, re-focus and construction in the often tense overload by holding workshops, reality television counselling in which the participants learn to take on their personal past history, social dysfunctions and deconstructions, to try to rebuild the sense of value and purpose that was once so clearly focused in the once modern era. The sense of loss for a society that was constructed with family values, rules, and concepts, has become the loss and bereavement counsellor’s (the professional child care worker) nightmare clients, a post-modern family in reality meltdown; a cast off society, has thrown away the foundational fabric for a less picturesque reality, that is here today and gone tomorrow.

In conclusion, it is clear that the nuclear family was not at all perfection. The revolution that led to post-modern life corrected old imbalances in society through de-differentiation of parental and gender roles. Yet these radical social changes may have created new imbalances by increasing demands on children and adolescents. In so doing the concept and notion of the contemporary family, with all its flaws is here to stay. The noisy debate of the ‘back to basics’ lobby with its moralistic overtones in both political and religious circles, remains hollow in its effect, for a return to the foundational and constructed past of cereal packet family values, societal constructs of right and wrong, balance and harmony; in part a re-construction of the modern era, with a plethora of the post-modern era with foundational ground rules, constructs and concepts that knit together the very fabric of society. In part, having all the joys of the post-modern era with the sense of restrictive citizenship and responsibility of the modern, in which diversity and inclusion is purely ‘tokenism’.

Furthermore, in part the post-modern deconstruction clears the slate for the fundamental regrouping or reconstruction of reality into new underlying constructs and new paradigms that reveal a model of family life that is contemporary, viable and refreshing. However, the stark consequential tenets of which must be the state providing cohesive available sound parenting skills for those that are struggling and support where necessary like safe child care provision for those who are not.

Nevertheless, the academic debate will continue, on the validity of the contemporary parenting models revealing themselves in society. But what is abundantly clear in academic literature, published enquiry report and news media; where some professionals remain practically unskilled as actual parents and ‘textbook’ models are proactively used, where in the formative, ‘cereal packet’ concept of family/parenting, the professional health visitor, social worker etc were mainly middle aged former nurses who as mothers themselves, could draw upon their own learning, balanced with textbook learning to support new parents. Sadly in an era where the ‘back to basics lobby’ cry for formative values to be reinstated, we are still finding professionals, reasoning and supporting a ‘one textbook model fits all’ to some parenting techniques that are significantly failing struggling/dysfunctional parents and children. Notwithstanding this, the lessons being currently learnt from recent child protection enquires (Clembie & Baby P etc), serve as stark examples of how professionals who support parents need to fully understand the workings of our now contemporary parenting and family unit with all their diversity. Only in doing so, will contemporary parenting become a safely embedded model for a modern contemporary British society.

REFERENCES

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ELKIND; D (1981) The Hurried Child. Reading Mass Addison-Wesley.

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EDWARD; R, & GILLIES; V, (2005) ‘Resources in Parenting: Access to Capitals Project Report’; Families & Social Capital ESRC Research Group; South Bank University; London.

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PATTERSON; J, et al. (2005) ‘Parents’ perceptions of the value of the Webster-Stratton Parenting Programme: a qualitative study of a general practice based initiative’, in Child Care, Health and Development 31(1): 53-64

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SHORTER; E, (1975) The Making of the Modern Family New York Basic Books

UTTING; D, (2007) Parenting and the different ways it can affect children’s lives: research evidence; Joseph Rowntree Foundation; York.

URL http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/

WELSH; E, et al. (2004) ‘Involved fathering and child well-being: Fathers’ involvement with secondary school age children’, published for the JRF by the National Children’s Bureau as part of the Parenting in Practice series

Drawing on material from the module, critically discuss the extent to which theories relating to post modernism inform our understanding of an aspect or aspects of contemporary social work.

Theories of postmodernism have gathered pace across all aspect of social theory. This is often referred to as the postmodern ‘turn’ (Best and Kellner, 1997). The emergence of the modern/postmodern debate in response to economic, social and cultural transformation has significant implications for professions such as social work (Crook et al, 1992). A vast array of literature has emerged with an interest in understanding changes to welfare provision and social work in relation to post modernity (Parton, 1994).

This text will critically discuss the extent to which theories relating to post modernism inform our understanding of contemporary social work. Being with the emergence of postmodern theory it will attempt to define this phenomenon by exploring the key themes. Focusing on two elements in particular, welfare and anti-oppressive practice, this text will try to identify features of postmodern social work using modernity as basis for comparison and analysis. To conclude collaborative theories such as ‘affirmative’ or ‘critical’ postmodernism will be explored as perspectives that inform understanding and guide social work practice into an approach that combines both personal and social factors.

Postmodernist social theory began to emerge in the 1960’s and 1970’s. It developed into the 1980’s where the concepts of globalization and reflexivity become incorporated. Today the postmodern debate continues to influence social work policy and practice (Walker, 2001). Postmodern theory developed as a response to a perceived ‘crisis of modernity’ brought on by factors such as accelerated economic growth, consumerism and resource depletion (Boggs, 1993). For many theorists such as Lyotard (1991) modernity failed to achieve its supposed aims of democracy, human emancipation and social justice through its evidence based world view.

Amongst theorists there is little consensus about when the world become post modern or if indeed it has giving rise to a plethora of postmodern perspectives and associated terms such as ‘late modern’, ‘post-industrial’, ‘post-structural’ and ‘high or late modernity’ (Dodd, 1999). Some theorists attempt to explain postmodernism historically whilst others “consider it synonymous with the demise of historical time” (Felski, 2000, p.2). As a result postmodernism proves difficult to define. There is however a common feature that can be identified within most postmodern theory, the demise of ‘mega-narratives’ (Lyon, 1994). Factors such as uncertainty, flux, ambiguity, pluralism and diversity have also been identified as characteristics of a postmodern society (Turner, 2006). The influx of postmodern theories has changed the discourse of social science shifting the focus from analysis of social structure to analysis of meaning (Noble, 2004).

In considering the impact of theories relating to postmodernism attention should be given to what characterises modern and postmodern social work. Social work can be considered a child of modernity (Parton and Marshall, 1998). The foundations of modernity were set in understanding the social world through reason, objectively and scientific study (Boggs, 1993). Some argue that it was this presence of logical argument and commitment to reason that equipped social work with tools to identify and address oppression (Noble, 2004). For this reason social work has spent most of its adolescence within the social sciences focusing on an evidence based approach to practice (Payne, 2005). Writers such as Gellner (1992) and Hambermas (1987, cited by Leonard 1997) advocate that if separated from repression and domination human reason is still the most progressive force for tackling the social world.

A modernist perspective assumes that there is some fixed essence or ethical base that informs social work (Noble, 2004). This was a popular perspective in the 1970’s where pursuit for a synthesized approach to theory and practice was accelerated and arguments were made for the introduction of generic practitioners and departments (Howe, 1994). The argument that in the age of modernity social order is maintained through self-regulation, systematic enquiry and expertise put forward by Foucault (1975), goes some way toward explaining the development and popularity of therapeutic approaches within social work. Promoting psychological understanding became a basis for social work with treatment and rehabilitation forming the foundations of the profession (Payne, 2005). There is of course considerable debate as to whether social work did begin with such emancipatory aims and its promotion of universalism and objectively is certainly challenged by the postmodern discourse.

Social work, from a postmodern perspective, stresses attention to power dilution, diversity, the authority of the service user, pluralistic perspectives and a fluid approach to intervention (Parton and O’Byrne, 2000). In this approach universalism is rejected and practitioners no longer strive to understand human behaviour through a theoretic framework. Multiple public inquiries into child deaths and institutional abuse have shaken faith in psychologically based techniques, questioning their ability to support individuals to function safely in society (Walker, 2001). This coupled with criticisms from radical social work perspectives has created space for a legal and social justice framework to emerge (Howe, 1994). Within this framework social workers are increasingly judged by their effectiveness giving reason, argues (Aldridge, 1996), for social workers to embrace their expertise and become more confident to articulate responses to criticism.

An implication of accountability culture is that social work practice becomes task-orientated and performance related (Hugman, 2003). It is for this reason that postmodernism has been critiqued for responding only to the surface of events with little inclination to explore what is behind this (Ferguson and Levalette, 1999). Social work is reduced to a set of organisational procedures dictated by codes of conduct, “Once the idea of a common theoretical base underpinning all social work practices is abandoned, the full implications of the controlling nature of legislation and policy can be unleashed” (Howe, 1994, p.524).

Having considered what characterises modern and postmodern social work we can begin to explore how these perspectives inform different aspects of social work. Given that social work is submerged in the welfare debate it seems a logical starting point to consider in relation to postmodernism (Pease and Fook, 1999). Understanding postmodernist theory in this sense gives insight into the political and social climate that shapes practice. Concerns have been raised regarding the impact of the postmodern discourse. Writers such as Powell (2001) suggest that the welfare system provides an essential role in taming unwieldy elements of capitalism through a state supported redistributing welfare system. Although modernist thinkers would concede that the welfare state has never fully succeeded in addressing inherent inequalities, its very existence has improved the standards of living for the majority (Noble, 2004). Therefore it is hardly surprising that concerns are being voiced over an increasing neo-liberal agenda and subsequent downsizing of the state in favour of a free market economy (Midgly, 1999). The introduction of ‘quasi-markets’ and ‘mixed economies of care’ has resulted in what is referred to as a ‘contract culture’ (Ife, 199). Powell (2001) suggests that the erosion of the welfare state has placed barriers to humanistic social policies and as a result professions such as social work struggle to remain central to service provision and to advance their wider aims of social justice.

Postmodernism with its disregard for universal values and ethics coupled with globalisation and the continued spread of capitalism are the driving forces behind this change (Noble, 2004). Ritzer (1995) attempts to define the status of society and social relationships in relation to a global market economy. Warning of the de-humanizing influences of large multi-national corporations Ritzer (1995, p34) highlights working practices that, “exemplify the contemporary rationalisation process within globalization of culture”. The four main elements of these working practices; evolving, efficiency, calculability and predictability are increasing present within social work.

Naturally these concerns are not shared by everyone. Many postmodern theorists argue that that the welfare state has always been a source of controversy never reaching consensus on how it should be organized, funded or distributed (Dominelli, 1996). Modernists can be critiqued for failing to acknowledge the welfare state as a mechanism for reproducing social inequality through the way in which resources are accessed and priorities established (Walton 1975, cited by Dominelli, 2004). Giddens (1991) identifies the welfare state as bound to ‘traditional family and gender systems’. Fraser and Gordon (1994) observe the gendered nature of welfare suggesting that policies centred on dependency, often associated with femininity, perpetuate negative representations of women and other disadvantages groups. Jordon and Jordan (2000) suggest instead that the Third Way in politics, dismissed as oppressive capitalism by commentators such as Bauman (2002), has a moral fibre in the sense of offering justice and inclusion without forcing conformity. Rights and freedoms are offered in the context of the market place, individuals have choice by means of being a consumer (Howe 1994). It is argued that the growth of the voluntary sector and changes to decision making and management structures are creating space for more innovative and personalised service delivery which is free from the constraints of institutional barriers (Walker, 2001).

The modern postmodern debate gathers pace when considered in relation to anti-oppressive practice. Here there are further concerns regarding the postmodernism influence on social work. Writers such as Ferguson and Levalette (1999) have argued that postmodern perspectives have little to contribute to anti-oppressive practice. Without universal ethics and values it becomes difficult to transform power relations or to identify common experiences that oppressed groups may share (Callinicos, 1995). The main critique that Ferguson and Levalette (1999) lobby on postmodernism is if all discourses are to be treated as valid the basis for distinguishing oppression is removed. Some feminists among other political critics argue that postmodernism, with its rejection of meta-narratives disempowers socially disadvantages groups “at the very point at which they need to demand emancipation in the name of universalistic notions of justice and equality” (Leonard, 1997). To address this requires a separation of emancipatory theory from oppressive ideology. The notion that emancipation can have a ‘normative foundation’ is considered by postmodernism to be unsound. However advocates of modernity such as Hambermas (1987, cited by Leonard 1997) advocate the need for a standard or a form of ‘undistorted communication” to remain in order to distinguish and challenge oppression.

Smith (1994, p.26) raises concerns that in a postmodern society oppression becomes self defined, the relationship between an individual’s social situation and their identity becomes separated resulting in “no objective way to locate a primary source of oppression”. Smith (1994) also suggests that the celebration of diversity that postmodernism promises only serves to trivialise real oppression felt by many disenfranchised groups. Increasingly concepts of identity have replaced discourses of oppression (Ferguson and Levalette, 1999). Leading the charge on identity is Giddens (1991) who asserts that individuals are rational and reflexive agents who create and shape their own identities. This assumption that identity is a matter of choice has been challenged significantly. Commentators such as (Skeggs, 2001) have argued that choice and reflexivity is a classed phenomenon with many individuals having few and often undesirable lifestyles from which to choose.

There are of course counter arguments to be considered here. To some postmodernists modernity is, or was depending upon their perspective, a Eurocentric, patriarchal and destructive force legitimised through the language of science (Pease and Fook, 1999). In a modern society those in positions of power are able to determine how knowledge is understood and what knowledge is relevant (Howe, 1994). Postmodernism rejects the idea that grand theories such as liberalism, socialism and psychoanalysis have offered explanations for human development suggesting instead that they perpetuate oppression by demanding consensus to their absolute notions (Bauman, 1992).

A universal knowledge base that informs understanding of human behaviour naturally assumes something transferable that can be applied across all societies and cultures (Dominelli, 1996). It has been suggested that this form of universalism equates to cultural domination and the potential for racist ideology (Leonard, 1997).Within this critique postmodernism suggests that diversity should be celebrated “as a reflection of the polymorphous, non-unitary and con-consensual nature of the social word” (Howe, 1994, p.524). A relativist approach in contrast to a universal approach suggests all forms of behaviour are local rendering notions of human nature redundant (Howe, 1994). Postmodernism challenges the notion that perspectives such as Radical or critical social work are the only means by which emancipation can be achieved. In this context adopting universal truths as a basis for emancipation is deemed arrogant and unethical (Noble, 2004). Postmodernism “spurns the concept of reason as an empancipatory force” and suggests that a more empowering approach is through the embracing of pluralism and difference (Dodd, 1999, p.212).

A key element of postmodernist thinking is the importance of language. From a postmodern perspective it is the discourses that constitute social and economic life (Ferguson and Levalette, 1999). Howe (1994, p.552) explains that “Language, once thought simply to reflect reality, now appears to constitute our reality in an independent domain of its own which carries meaning and culture”. The notion that power is embedded in language offers scope for social workers to critically reflect and challenge dominant discourses and assumptions to avoid perpetuating oppressive practices (Fook et al, 2000). This highlights ‘the transformative capacity of critical postmodernism to improve practice and facilitate social change’ (Morley, 2004 p. 299). However Ferguson and Levalette (1999) observe that new language and terminology although a force for challenging oppressive categorisation, does not change the material situation individual’s face.

In summary it is worth considering how postmodern perspectives can be combined and developed to offer an approach to social work that integrates “diversity and flexibility of meaning with the possibility of an ethical discourse that is shared rather than individualised” (Hugman 2003, p.1035). ‘Critical postmodernism’ based on a constructionist approach, combines flexibility of meaning with the understanding that society is socially constructed through the actions and relationships of its members (Hugman, 2003). In this sense postmodernism does not need to equate to the disappearance of traditional social work but nor does it need to succumb to a neo-liberal agenda (Sim, 1999).

Ferguson and Lavalette (1999, p.28) in support of Leonard (1997) suggest another avenue in combining the postmodernism and structural discourses, “by combining postmodernist themes with socio economic developments (informed by a ‘Marxian’ perspective on globalisation and post-fordism), a rejuvenated ’emanicpatory’ social work can be developed”. Parton and O’Byrne 2000) discuss the application of an ‘affirmative’ postmodern social work which opens up thought towards greater inclusion and less prescriptive theories and methods of practice. Ife (1999) and Pease and Fook (1999) also support a social work that values diversity and uncertainty but maintains a political struggle towards social justice based on a commitment to some universal ethical and values. These theories offer a way of managing a changing society without removing a unified knowledge base or without forcing a postmodern retreat. In other words they provide a way forward that incorporates the “personal with the political so that both are integrated into a more relevant social work discourse” (Noble, 2004, p.2).

This text has gone some way towards outlining postmodern perspectives of contemporary social work. From this brief analysis we can see that social work developed during the period of ‘enlightenment’ or the ‘age of modernity’. As a result its focus became the development of a universal theoretical framework that informs knowledge in order to challenge social oppression. Changes within society have given rise to postmodern theories which offer social work the possibility of a fluid, pluralistic approach that promotes diversity and participation through the validity of all perspectives. As we have discussed neither of these approaches is without challenge or critique.

Consideration has been given to the impact of postmodernism upon the welfare state and thus social work, outlining concerns relating to a neo-liberal agenda but questioning at the same time the suggested empacipatory nature and role of the state. The impact of postmodernism on anti-oppressive practice has been debated and implications for social work considered. Conclusions have been offered in the form of theories that combine postmodernism with elements of universalism and structural analysis. It has been clear throughout this journey that postmodernist theories have and continue to impact upon social work practice. In conclusion giving consideration to a postmodern perspective helps assists “social work to examine the diverse, provisional and uncertain nature of all aspects of our world, including knowledge and skills and values and ethics” (Hugman, 2003, p.1037).

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Scientific methodology in sociology, the study of the social world, is most often associated with what is known as the positivist approach. In this essay, to determine whether or not it is indeed possible to apply scientific methods to the study of the social world, I will analyse the strengths and weaknesses of positivist sociology. “As developed by Auguste Comte, positivism is a way of thinking based on the assumption that it is possible to observe social life and establish reliable, valid knowledge about how it works.” (Johnson p231) This established knowledge was then to be used to affect the course of social change and it would help improve humanity. Comte’s work was in part a reaction to the ‘anarchy’ that besieged France in the wake of the revolution. Comte sincerely believed that scientific rationality could temper the raw human emotions that had lead to such chaos. Sociology, in his definition (and others), literally the science of society, could apply such scientific rationalism, empiricism and positivism to social life, thus improving it and preventing continued anarchy. “Comte believed that social life is governed by underlying laws and principles that can be discovered through the use of methods most often associated with the physical sciences.” (Johnson p231) One would identify the methods of positivism thus;

1) careful observation – measurement;

2) quantification;

3) formalisation of concepts – precision in definition;

4) operationalisation of theoretical questions

5) mathematisation (connects with all of the previous features;

6) logic and systemisation of theory

7) symmetry of explanation & prediction;

8) objectivity understood as value neutrality.

Positivism, “Is above all a philosophy of science. As such, it stands squarely within the empiricist tradition. Metaphysical speculation is rejected in favour of positive knowledge based upon systematic observation and experiment. The methods of science can give us knowledge of the laws of coexistence.” (Marshall p510) However, as shall hopefully be shown later, these scientific methods can not show us anything about the inner ‘essences’ or ‘nature’ of things. Broadly speaking structuralism is, “Used loosely in sociology to refer to any approach which regards social structure (apparent or otherwise) as having priority over social action.” (Johnson p646) Positivism and structuralism are generally highly complementary, positivism effectively being the scientific methodology of structuralism. This can be observed in the works of Comte, Marx, Durkheim and the Vienna circle. Later theorists such as Parsons can also be described as both structuralist and positivist although in Parson’s case he does consider certain interpretivist sensibilities. Marx, Durkheim, Comte, the Vienna circle and many others all saw sociology as a science and all believed that social structure was the core component of society. “Perhaps one of the most important traits in naturalistic or positivistic sociology is the belief that social phenomena are patterned and are subject to deterministic laws much as are the laws governing the natural sciences. Sociological theory then becomes a quest for laws similar to the law of gravity or the law of material density in physics” (Poloma p3)

The main difference between the social and natural worlds is that the subject of study in the social world is humanity. People, in basic terms, have a consciousness where as the subjects of the natural sciences, rocks or atoms or chemicals, do not. People are aware of themselves and their surroundings in a way that rocks, for example, are not. This, clearly, is a potential problem for positivist sociology. However, this problem is resolved, in positivist science, by arguing that the self-consciousness of human beings (the ability to think, act and feel) is not a significant factor in our ability to understand social behaviour. This, according to positivists, is because people’s behaviour is, at its genesis, always a reaction to some form of stimulation. This stimulation can be from their socialisation (as we shall see in Parsons work), or it can be something more direct like the need to earn a living or a confrontation with another human. This produces one of the criticisms of positivist sociology, as we shall see, action and the meaning placed on that action becomes unimportant for study, only the cause of the action, the stimuli, has any sociological value for positivists.

The positivist view of sociology, of its aims, of its methods, is certainly a contentious one. Two of the first sociologists to question these methods, and the first that can be labelled as interpretivist, were Weber and Simmel. “Weber argues that sociology is not concerned with totalising explanations; only individuals have an ontological reality, society does not exist in that real sense, and so sociological explanations must be in terms of individual events and processes.” (Craib 1997 p51) Rickert’s term of Geisteswissenschaften (literally ‘the sciences of the spirit/mind) greatly influenced Weber’s conception of what sociology should be. The ontological reality which Weber speaks of is that humans are very different from other natural beings. We have free will, an inner life, use symbols, possess language, live in culture and act meaningfully. This ontological reality ensures that humanity cannot be studied using positivist scientific methodology, or any other conventional scientific methodology, sociology must use other methods. While the natural sciences wish to explain natural events, sociology, as understood by Weber, Rickert or Simmel, wishes to understand social action. Social scientists should endeavour to understand social action in very much the same way as one attempts to understand other people, by communicating, through empathy, and through argument. These views are also associated with, and expanded upon, by the philosopher Peter Winch. (Winch 1958)

“Sociology differs from the natural sciences in that it does not deal with a pre given universe of objects. People attribute meaning to their social world and act accordingly.” (Baert p97) Weber, in his Methodology of The Social Sciences, points out that all knowledge of cultural reality is always from a particular point of view. The philosophical idea that there is no truth, only human opinion is prevalent in this argument. Simmel emphasises and expands upon this point, “In the last resort the content of any science doesn’t rest on simple objective facts, but always involves an interpretation and shaping of them according to categories and rules that are a priori of the science concerned.” (Stones p74) Any scientific conclusion, be it in the field of physics or sociology, has to be interpreted by its author, then represented by that same author and then reinterpreted by those that read it. In these interpretations any ‘truth’ or ‘law’ is surrendered to human opinion, human meaning, human understanding. This criticism of positivist sociology is probably best illustrated by a discussion of a classic positivist sociological text, Emile Durkheim’s suicide study.

In his study, Durkheim analysed the differential distribution of the occurrence of suicide by country and region. Durkheim professed to have found “suicidogenic currents” (Durkheim 1963) in society; the pressures to commit suicide, the laws of suicide. Through a positivist, scientific methodology, Durkheim identified the pressures to commit suicide were greater in regions where the Protestant faith was dominant, and weaker where Catholicism dominated. Durkheim’s account posits an external force (suicidogenic currents) as the cause of suicide – cause and effect. (Durkheim 1963) However why suicide occurs tends not to be the issue. To say that suicide is caused, not entirely obviously but in part, by the following of the Protestant faith is to assume that the term suicide is a simple one, a fixed one, with no room for differing meanings. This view is wrong. What is of importance is how a “suicide” comes to be defined as such by the coroner’s court. One must remember that a suicide is not an objective fact, but a interpretation, an interpretation that can be influenced by the coroner’s own personal feelings. If a ruling of suicide is likely to cause the deceased’s family pain and suffering, as is likely if they are Catholics, then the coroner may be inclined, where ever possible, to not record a suicide verdict, but an accidental death instead

This alerts us to the problematic nature of Durkheim’s, and positivist sociology in general, reliance on statistics. For Durkheim takes those statistics as giving a ‘true’ picture of the incidence of suicide. But do they? Are they rather a representation of the interpretation of suicide as opposed to cold hard objective fact? Interactions/ interpretive work on suicide states that suicide statistics are a construction involving police, courts and coroners. Thus for a death to be counted as a suicide involves a complex social process concerning meaning and interpretation, two unquantifiable characteristics of humanity. Thus suicide is not just the effect of a societal cause, but an interpretation of events, thus not a positivist, scientific event. Therefore if sociologists wish a knowledge of social life, they cannot explain social actors’ action in terms of cause and effect. Rather, they must seek out what the social actors themselves say they are up to, what they mean. “Comte’s view shifted in later life, under the influence of Cloitilde de Vaux. He came to see that science alone could not be a binding force for social cohesion as he had earlier supposed. He argued that the intellect must become the servant of the heart, and advocated a new ‘religion of humanity.’” (Marshall p509) Comte, the originator of the positivist sociological methodology shifted his emphasis away from positivism in his later work, thus exposing the inherent problems and weaknesses at its methodological core. “Positivism has had relatively little influence in contemporary sociology for several reasons. Current views argue that positivism encourages a misleading emphasis on superficial facts without any attention to underlying mechanisms that cannot be observed.” (Johnson p231) For example, we cannot observe human motives or the meaning that people give to behaviour and other aspects of social life, but this does not mean that meaning and motive are nonexistent or irrelevant.

The best way to illustrate the above points is to set them within the context of a positivist sociological study, in this case Parson’s work on personality.

For society to function, it is logical according to Parsons to deduce that the individual members of society have to agree with society’s rule. “For Parsons, the social system is…made up of the interactions of individuals. Of special concern is… that such interactions are not random but mediated by common standards of evaluation. Most important among these are moral standards which may be called norms.” (Hamilton p155) When people in society interact the interactions themselves, the emotions that seemingly control them, the goals that the individual actors (people) are hoping to obtain, they are all in fact controlled by the norms of society. “The concept of order is located predominantly at the level of the social system itself and the cultural system becomes a mechanism of the functioning of the social system.” (Hamilton p146) These norms are adopted and agreed by each member of the society for Parsons and this is his consensus theory. Importantly Parsons’ theory suggests that the power of societal expectations, the power of norms, is more pervasive than merely being a moral standard that mediates interaction and personal relationships. They are in fact the organisational foci of personality, of people themselves.

“Socialisation is the process by which we learn to become members of society, both by internalising the norms and values of society, and also learning to perform our social roles (as worker, friend, citizen and so forth.)” (Marshall p624) The family, for instance, is controlled by the same norms as society because it is that society, just it is a smaller component of it. The subsystems of society are analogous to body parts in the Parsonian model, they are all essential, each provide their own unique function and all interrelate, interpenetrate and are dependent upon one another. Analogous to the human body where each body part has a specific function to perform, and all of those parts work in unison to keep the structure going, so society is organised. Immersion within these subsystems, such as the family leads to internalisations of norms and objects, and this in turn creates personality. Because personality is internalised from society, “The foci of organisation of both types of system lies in…the value systems.” (Parsons p357) The values of society are the values of people, or personality. People are not just guided by the norms of society, but their very personalities are organised by the very same norms and principles and morals, according to Parsons. Thus peoples actions are quantifiable, reducible to a law since they are mediated by common standards. As gravity is a constant, so are the norms of a society and therefore of personality.

The positivist law here is that personality, every action of a human is controlled by the same standards of evaluation as society. The person’s personality is derived directly from society, it is society. Thus a scientific study of society is possible because there is cause and effect, there is a reaction to stimuli. Socialisation is the stimulation that people react to. For Parsons, laws can be discerned from humanity because people will react in predictable ways, mediated by norms, to the stimulation of events and socialisation. Thus sociology can be scientific, empirical and positivist.

A major problem with Parson’s work is that it reduces human personality to being produced and organised solely by societal expectations and norms. This societal determinism fails to acknowledge or explain where certain feelings, motives and actions originate. Goffman argues that “it is . . . against something that the self can emerge. . . Without something to belong to, we have no stable self, and yet total commitment and attachment to any social unit implies a kind of selflessness. Our sense of being a person can come from being drawn into a wider social unit; our sense of selfhood can arise through the little ways in which we resist the pull.” (Goffman 196 p305) A favourite example of this for Goffman was that of mental patients in asylums. The total institution of an asylum probably forces more strict adherence to societal expectation than most other social situations by using methods such as drug induced control and disciplinary measures such as EST. Yet in these institutions, despite being forced to play the role of the mental patient, to conform to societal expectation), patients still resisted those expectations. The hoarding of banned materials being an example of this. The motivation to do this does not come from internalisation of norms, as the correct way to behave is to not horde banned items. It comes from a need to keep ones own identity, to satisfy needs and drives and wants. These needs drives and wants are absent from the Parsonian model and a full understanding or explanation of society and social actions needs to take them into account.

“The maintenance of this surface of agreement, this veneer of consensus, is facilitated by each participant concealing his own wants behind statements which assert values to which everyone present feels obliged to give lip service.” (Goffman 1990 p20-21) The norms and laws that Parsons believes to control personality and society, are revealed by Goffman as only being a veneer. Furthermore Goffman states that other feelings and motives in fact influence social action, not just norms. If, as Goffman claims, the so called common standards of evaluation that Parsons identifies are in fact a veneer that hides other motives and feelings, then the actions of humanity are not as easily quantifiable, reducible to a scientific, positivist law, as Parsons first shows.

Freud’s metapsychology deals with the general structure of mental life. For Freud there were three psychic structures. The first, the id, contains, “those basic drives we have by virtue of being human, of which sexuality is the most important.” (Craib 1989 p3) The Id is often equated to by Freud as being like an infant, demanding immediate satisfaction irrespective of societal expectations. The Id makes up the greatest part of the unconscious and it is in this unconscious realm of basic biologically influenced drives that the motivational forces that Parson’s can not identity come from. The Id influences personality. It is important to remember that, as opposed to biological instincts driving us to act like a shark would, a mindless automaton, “the unconscious is composed not of biological instincts but of the mental representations we attach to these instincts.” (Craib 1989 p4) Thus each individual creates their own mental representation for their drives thus meaning that every persons internal world has a different geography. This clearly poses problems for the positivist approach to personality and society and social action, as represented by Parsons here, for if reaction to stimulation is not predictable because each person acts differently, then universal scientific laws can not be established.

The second structure of personality according to Freud, the ego or the ‘I’ is the central organiser of mental life. The third, the superego is thought of as the conscience. “The superego is the internalisation of external control which demands the renuncification of instinctual satisfaction in order that society might be formed and maintained.” (Craib 1989 p21) The superego is the part of personality that Parson’s identifies the part that internalises norms. The basic drives of the id demand immediate satisfaction, immediate gratification of those drives, these demands are contrary to the superego norms and morality, and the conflict has to be resolved by the ego. Our consciousness, predominantly consisting of the ego and superego, protects us from our own id impulses that, if they were followed, would leave it impossible for us to exist within society. Freud stated that “Civilisation depends upon repression…If we tried to gratify all our desires, sexual or otherwise, as and when they arose, society, civilisation and culture would vanish over night.” (Craib 1984 p195) For Freud the ‘I’, is the resolution of the conflict between the id biologically directed drives, and the superego’s societal restraints. Therefore personality is the site of the, hopefully, resolved conflict between the normative mind evaluated by common standards as Parsons identifies, and the basic id drives. These Id drives, as I shall show, influence personality thus influence social action and society. This being the case then Parsons’ explanation for personality is insufficient and so is the positivist claim for the scientific study of society. The positivist tenants of careful observation and measurement; quantification; formalisation of concepts – precision in definition; operationalisation of theoretical questions; mathematisation; logic and systemisation of theory; symmetry of explanation & prediction and objectivity cannot be applied to individualistic Id drives and impulses. “The desire to kill anyone who frustrates us thus becomes unconscious, but none the less remains.” (Craib 1989 p24) Evidence for these desires for Freud appears in slips, where the unconscious desire can ‘slip’ into conscious conversation. “Freud quotes the husband who supposedly said, ‘If one of us two die, I shall move to Paris.” (Craib 1989 p24) One can not scientifically measure how these unconscious desires influence and effect social action, especially since it can be so hard to identify them as existing in the first place.

“A feature of human life is that an instinct such as the sexual instinct is not directed at any one object, but has to be socially channelled, in our society usually towards members of the opposite sex.” (Craib 1989 p4) “Human beings are restrained by social organisation from a free and good expression of their drives. Through its oppression, society forces people into neuroses and psychoses.” (Craib 1989 p19) For Freud the very problems that he and other psychoanalysts dealt with were in fact often as the result of the repression of id drives by the superego and societal repression. As such the very existence of neuroses and psychoses can be seen as evidence to the fact that this conflict does indeed exist, that the resolution of this conflict does indeed produce the ‘I’ with all its faults and problems. To fully understand society, sociology needs to be aware of societal pressures, the Parson’s personality through positivism, but also needs to recognise the other meanings and emotions that cannot be quantified, cannot be analysed scientifically. Sociology needs to use interpretivism and positivism together. In terms of this example, Parsons positivist models needs to be considered at great length and detail as he does indeed identify a huge force in shaping society, that of norms and how they do penetrate into the psyche and personality. However, a study that only concentrates on the positivist methodology misses the crucial aspects of personality that Goffman and Freud identify, and that is not in the interest of any sociologist.

“Positivism may be dead in that there is no longer an identifiable community of philosophers who give its simpler characteristics unqualified support, but it lives on philosophically, developed until it transmutes into conventionalism or realism. And even if in its simpler philosophical forms it is dead, the spirit of those earlier formulations continues to haunt sociology.” (Halfpenny p120) In conclusion positivism’s attempt at scientific sociological methodology, though fallacious is admirable and certainly many of the aspects of positivism should be considered desirable. As quoted elsewhere, “positivism is a way of thinking based on the assumption that it is possible to observe social life and establish reliable, valid knowledge about how it works.” (Johnson p231) The desire for reliable, valid knowledge is of course a relevant and important sociological aim and some of the tools that positivism uses to try to reach such knowledge are useful and worthwhile. Careful observation, measurement; quantification; formalisation of concepts – precision in definition; operationalisation of theoretical questions; logic and systemisation of theory; symmetry of explanation and prediction and objectivity, if all of these tenants of positivism can at least be attempted in a sociological study then that sociological study will indeed be the better for it. However, sociological study needs to recognise, as Comte himself did, that these aims, in their fullest, are unobtainable and that those aims are not ends in themselves, rather a very rough guide to sociological methodology. As I have hopefully shown above, sociological analysis needs positivism, needs scientific methodology, but a carefully tempered and monitored positivism. The aim of sociology is understanding and that understanding should not be limited by methodology, especially a methodology that is inherently flawed. Positivism shows us how to analyse data, data that is essential to sociological understand, but that data must not be treated uncritically thus a synthesis of positivism and interpretivism is recommended. To study the social world using a strict scientific methodology is impossible, that does not, of course, mean that scientific methodology is not a useful and critical tool in sociological study.

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The Industrial Revolution started in Britain during the late 1700’s. It made its way to America in the 18th and 19th century. It brought about a remarkable change from hand tools and handmade items to products produced by machines. The increase of production resulted in high profits for factory owners. In Britain the machines improved the work of talented artisans, and in America the machines assisted the entrepreneur’s productivity. The Industrial Revolution benefited the middle class more significantly, but impacted all lives through American history. (2) It created a demand for laborers and a production of mass products. It transpired from the inventions of machines and the production of new things. If society had missed out on the Industrial revolution, life would lack technology, transportation, the need for education, and other modern conveniences. (3) Therefore, the Industrial Revolution had a positive effect on American society.

The revolution made way for inventors. There were many inventions which were introduced during this time. Each of these had a huge effect on the changing of American society. Inventions became alive with newer and faster ways to produce products and transport goods. People’s lives opened up to new functions, and a commerce system was born. James Watt improved the steam engine during the second half of the 18th century, which facilitated factory growth by introducing a transportation system. In essence, the starting force of the industrial revolution was the steam engine. (9) An article published by the North American Reviewstates that “Five great causes enter into, and combine to create, the wonderful development of the century’s commerce. They may be stated in five words: steam, electricity, invention, finance, peace.” (6) Each of these items had an effect on the society from the cities to the mountains. In The Strength of the Hills, Frank P. Woodbury stated that “in the presence of these forces life will be transformed.” He wrote about the demand for the mountain people to supply labor to work on the railways, mines and factories. He mentioned the changes and power that the industrial revolution would bring to the mountain people. (5) These same ideas would bring about similar effects to all of society.

With the inventions of the loom, cotton gin, and sewing machine, there was an increase of production in the textile industry. (3) In the article A Century of International Commerce it is stated that the machines in the factories produced many more times the items a single man could make with his hands. Due to the production of more goods, other requirements became necessary; the factory system, the need for labor, transportation, communication, and financial systems. All of these are examples of what started a domino effect. Without each one of these, the US would not have gotten to the next level within the industrial revolution. (6)

The birth of the factory system brought about the need for labor, which in turn provided society with options. More jobs were needed to operate the machinery in order to produce the products. The options provided to the people were location, different ways to earn a living, and the way a life is lived. These options guided society to power and wealth. (4) Factories multiplied, which lead to competition and produced “the general spirit of enterprise”, as described by George S. White in The Benefits of the Factory System. White wrote that even though some employers abused their employees because they were allowed too much power, the employees or laborers were the real power. He articulates that the community has the right to complain, and the employers should expect protest if mistreatment is present. (4) The corrective actions of the employers will lead to universal advancement and benefit the society. In the article Effects of Machinery, the question is posed; is machinery an evil. The author responds with; “No doubt, like every other great power, machinery may be converted into an instrument of great oppression. But it is not such naturally. In itself it has been always, and, under well regulated Governments, it always will be a source of great good, of good almost unmixed. The evils necessarily incident to its introduction, are slight, partial, and transient. They reach only the surface of society, affect but small portions of the community, and speedily pass away.” The author then affirms that the positive impact of machinery surpasses the negative effects that are felt by society. (7)

As production began to increase, products needed to reach the consumers. The transportation system improved. Railroads and steamboats were built. The first steamboat built by Robert Fulton would help ship goods across the Atlantic Ocean. Lands across the ocean could possess America’s products. The locomotive was built by George Stephenson, which transported products to locations for many more people. (2) With the expansion of railways, commerce increased 40 percent by 1840 and continued to increase throughout the following years. (6) This allowed prices of goods to decrease. More goods were transported and sold; therefore, more people could afford to pay. The explosion of the railroad gave way to the movement of passengers and products to different destinations. (1) These transportation innovations provided shipping power on both land and sea; but also provided safety and accelerating speed. (6)

Inventions that aided the people to spread news quicker and more precisely presented another positive to society. The telegraph invented by Samuel F. B. Morse provided communication through a wire in the speed of light. In the Invention of the Telegraph by Alonzo B. Cornell, he states that after the National Democratic Convention in 1844, the event was telegraphed to Washington. People were shocked by how speedy and accurate the system worked. This event removed the doubts felt by the people. (8) Larger businesses previously went through many challenges to communicate across the organization. This invention allowed the business men to spread information faster about prices and markets. Workers could see machines were improving, and they could receive important news that previously had been delivered by a horse man. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, creating a much better and faster way to communicate across America, which allowed managers to keep in contact. This led to new methods of management and an efficient production of methods in business. (3)

During this time a new development occurred which allowed electricity to be used effectively. Michael Faraday discovered electromagnetic induction in 1831. His discovery was the driving force behind the electric motor. His thought on electricity, magnetic fields, and nature of fields inspired other inventors. (10) Thomas Edison later introduced the system of electric lighting. These inventions impacted society by allowing the first multinational companies to be established, which would later promote the electrification of cities. With the lighting of homes and workplaces, work and socialization could take place at different times, thus expanding and changing people’s schedules. This also led to improved household appliances, like the refrigerator and the microwave. Nationally and internationally, electricity became an improvement in people’s domestic lives, social lives, working routine, and productivity levels. (11)

The Industrial Revolution emerged from inventions that brought about a factory system, a commerce system, a transportation system, and a communication system. Each of these influenced a new way of life. These achievements encouraged human progress, which inspired the opportunity of individuality. It is best stated in an article written by Richard T. Ely, who writes: “Again, this material economic life of ours, this production of goods, this buying, selling, and getting gain, it must ever be remembered, is not an end in itself. It is but a means to an end. It is the basis of our higher life, and is to be valued merely as such.” When was this written? What is the source? I do not find a reference for Ely in your listing? He goes on to say that with this Industrial Revolution our society finds growth in eight areas which are divided into language, art, science and education, family life, social life, religious life, political life and economic life. Even though there were hardships during the industrial revolution society was impacted greatly by the individual’s inspirations for an advanced life. The individuality demanded changes to the social system. Abolition of child labor, improved working conditions for women, factory inspections and sanitary regulations were just a few of the improvements made by society. (12) Another affect on society was the interest of science. The people began to thrive for the knowledge of the unknown. This curiosity lead to stronger industries, but most importantly produced more questioning human beings.(3) In the Benefits of the Factory System it is stated that “the more he studies and understands the works of nature and Providence, the greater will be his admiration of the display and application of wisdom and goodness.” (4) This quote gives a sense of strength, peace and intelligence which leads to the conclusion of an improved society. From this one can establish that the Industrial Revolution had a positive effect on the success of the American society.

Andrea Mewhinney

Globalisation is a real phenomenon of the new world system which has a powerful force in determining the world future image. Its dimensions vary from economic, political, social, and cultural applications. The term can be defined as a transforming process that converts local transactions and deals into global ones. This conversion results in increasing cross border trade, investment, tourism and cultural exchange. By applying principles of globalisation, several positive and negative effects have arisen today. This essay will discuss three means of globalisation, where the first two have mainly positive aspects and the next one has negative aspects. Then, the essay will evaluate these aspects that accompany globalisation.

The first mean is that the multinational companies and organisations of rich countries are brought to poor and developed countries. This movement provides countries with extra employment opportunities for both genders and contributes the governmental efforts in fighting unemployment. In addition, it has liberated people from the strong bond to their own customs that refuse coping with other nationalities through exporting jobs and business deals. In other words, the enhancement of multiculturalism in global village makes women’s work necessary for all countries. Surprisingly, females were struggling with their entire lives to have equality with men especially in closed environments where Saudi Arabia is a case of point. Nowadays, Saudi women make up a large volume in the labour force of the country and share the development of Saudi Arabia. The equality between sexes in jobs opportunities resulted from multinational companies has been expanded for higher payments, job satisfaction, self confidence and independence. As a result, some individuals become able to establish families and have their own house at the end of the age twenties. With more freedoms and opportunities, people can receive more income and improve their standard of living.

In addition, presence of global goods over the shelves in the marketplace next to local ones shows the differences between products in terms of quality, price, size and shape. Today, most countries can export and import products in the global village. Manufacturers are motivated to produce the best merchandises with good quality and reasonable price. Moreover, global trade creates competitive environment between companies. Customers become more convenient and well satisfied with cross border services. They can share interests and brands of other nations. For instance, Egyptians can enjoy eating McDonald meals and drive Mercedes cars as similar to Americans and Germans. According to Buckley (1998) Global trade can strengthens the relations between nations and makes wars less likely to occur. To sum up, global brands seem to unit nations and make them dependant upon each other.

According to the first two means, globalisation promotes business movement and global trade which both carry enormous benefits to societies. But on the other hand, TV broadcasting has serious effects on individuals.

The third example of globalisation is the broadcasting of hundreds TV channels to all viewers around the world. TV has abundant amounts of unacceptable levels of sex and violence channels that cause harm to viewers. This content is extremely damaging for youth because they might apply what they have seen and commit crimes. Furthermore, some teenagers become more aggressive and involved in organized crimes. Also, group of adults are encouraged to have sex outside of marriage which has led to social and health problems. For example, it is proven that the cause of auto immune deficiency disease is mainly due to the multi sexual relations outside of marriage. In fact, the erosion in the values of a community will cause greater social problems in the future.

It is obvious that making business in other countries will increase the overall national profits and will bring technologies to the targeted ones. Investments in developed countries have shown radical changes that attract tourists. Dubai city is a vivid example that proves the success of business movement between countries. Global trade of goods and services can cause significant reduction in prices and enable limited income people to buy them. Also, it will take little time to purchase a product from global village. Sharing interests and goods between nations may enhance peace and harmony. On the other hand, if the intensity of violence and sex on TV channels continues, there will be more criminals in societies. Governments may build new prisons to accommodate increasing numbers of offenders.

In conclusion, this essay has discussed the main positive effects of companies’ investments in developed countries and the application of global trade, where the first represents a mean of globalisation that creates benefits such as, new job opportunities, higher payments, job satisfaction and independence. Global trade increases exports and imports between countries and enables people to share brands. It gives customers the freedom to buy favourable products. The essay has discussed negative effects of broadcasting TV channels. Violence and sex content increases crimes in societies. Such practices result in sever diseases and social problems. Some individuals have acquired aggressive behaviours and others become criminals.