Change through Policy and the Law

This chapter begins by introducing you to the notion of social change, or the transformation of culture and social institutions over time. The most dominant agent of social change is by far the state, a set of institutions that includes four parts: elected or appointed political decision-makers, administrative units or bureaucracies, a judiciary or legal system, and security services.

You learn in this chapter about the three perspectives used to explain the rise of modern states: the managerial, militaristic, and economic perspectives. The managerial perspective focuses on the evolving practices related to recruitment, training, and employment of administration to manage rising bureaucracies. The militaristic perspective refers to the fact that most European states developed through war. The economic perspective refers to the idea that states developed out of a necessity to manage the conflicting interests of a growing capitalist class in Europe.

Next, this chapter introduces you to the idea of the welfare state, a kind of state that attempts to provide a minimum income for citizens. Welfare states also attempt to alleviate economic insecurity due to unemployment or illness and they also provide a range of social services.

This chapter then introduces you to an important distinction in the way states administer social services between universal and means-tested programs. Universal programs are available to all citizens whereas means-tested programs rely on a determination of whether an individual or family needs government assistance.

Finally, you learn in this chapter about voting, its importance to states, and the recent decline in voter turnout explained with the life-cycle effect and general replacement theories.

Back to top