I am very excited to teach Social Policy and Inequalities (SOCI.5150) again this year. It is a required course for Human Service Management students in the MPA program. This semester we will be reading the book "Evicted" by Matthew Desmond, as well. Desmond is a sociologist who studied the private housing markets of two neighborhoods in Milwaukee, WI. I plan to write more about this later in the semester.

In addition, I am using a text that was developed based on the framework for Social Policy developed by David GIl (from Brandeis). In preparation for teaching with this text, I re-read David's book, re-integrating into his framework and philosophy which I have not done since I took his class thirteen years ago. Although my head ached after reading his introductory chapters, David's analysis remains relevant to today's world of policy - and indeed - in many ways, more relevant than ever, given how the Trump Administration has challenged fundamental policy assumptions. David's argument that policy analysis begins with an understanding of basic and perceived human needs is more relevant than ever.

David's framework asks us to consider "What is Social Policy?"

Although “social policy” is often equated with the social services or formal laws that shape social welfare programs, this class takes a more comprehensive definition of social policies:

“Social policies are guiding principles for ways of life, motivated by basic and perceived human needs. They were derived by people from the structures, dynamics, and values of their ways of life, and they serve to maintain or change these ways. Social policies tend to, but need not, be codified in formal legal instruments. All extant social policies of a given society at a given time, constitute an interrelated, yet not necessarily internally consistent system of social policies.”(Gil 1973:24)

This definition of social policy opens our analysis to consider the potential to understand not only policies ‘intended’ to meet human needs, but also policies related to economic issues, political participation, security concerns, and arts and culture whose outcomes have implications for human thriving.

What are Inequalities?

This brings us to the second phrase in the title of this course “inequalities” which requires us to consider the nature of equality. On ‘equality,’ Gil (1973) asks a fundamental question:

“Should all people be considered and treated as equals in intrinsic worth and rights, in spite of manifold differences among them, or should some be considered and treated as more worthy than others, and therefore, be entitled to privileged conditions?” (52)

This is a philosophical question, and not a mathematical one, so we cannot answer it simply by dividing existing resources among a given population. Furthermore, equality does not imply “sameness” among people who may differ on multiple dimensions. Instead, our definition of ‘equality’ (sameness) will bring us to consider “equity” (fairness) as we recognize that in a diverse society, different groups of people may have different needs. Furthermore, we will explore how these different needs have been and continue to be codified through systemic violence to construct what we know as “inequalities” of class, race, gender, sexuality and disability.

On a side note, David Gil argues that while there can be degrees of 'inequality,' there cannot be degrees of 'equality.' I do have problems with this part of David's argument (I always did - even when I was in his class)...because it seems to quantify the concept of both "equality" and "inequality" despite the fact that he also states that inequality is not quantifiable.