Political Ideology & Husbandry: the Social-Democrat Man

http://www.skepticalob.com/2011/09/melissa-cheyney-and-oregon-homebirth.html

   

     Political ideologies are like the husbands of our stereo-typical societal history. As your brows furrow in confusion at that statement, first think of the role of men in the household as mirror to the role of government in society when it comes to social welfare.

     You have the feudalistic neo-conservative husband. When he comes home from his grueling day at work. He… well, sits at the dinning table and waits for his obedient wife to serve him his dinner. While he may be the one that pays for the roof over the heads of his family members, his contributions to the actual household are very minimal, if not non-existent. Much like the government from a neo-conservative approach in social welfare; it does little to help. Neo-conservatism also values inequality on an economic level. Precisely like the roles of separate genders in the household back in feudal times were unequal, on polar levels.

     You have the liberal, modern day husband. He goes to work, and his wife does the same. They bring home the bacon in equal shares, yet somehow, the roles in the household remain unbalanced. The husband may offer to read the children a bedtime story and put them to bed, only after the woman spent the evening slaving away with household chores the moment she got back form work. The husband participates, but only where it is needed. In regards to Social Welfare and the role the government has form a liberal perspective, its participation is minimal, but it is there when there is a need.

     Finally, you have the balanced power-couple. Both financial and household duties are weights shared by the husband and the wife. The husband helps the wife witch chores in every way that he can, when help is needed. This would be the social democratic equivalent of a husband. Social democrats of government believe that when it comes to Social Welfare, cooperation is the key, and assistance is vital when there is a need to reach societal potential.

Poverty and the Welfare state: five evils I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weYttywhYbs

     This video was created by a group of students that based their information on the report made by William Beveridge who is considered by some as "the father of the welfare state"(Heys, 2012). While the video above may have been based upon the observations of William Beveridge of the British government, we can see where Canada has thrived and we can see where it has failed; we can see what “Evils” our country has conquered and the ones it yet still combats. Just as a recap, the five evils mentioned were:

• Squalor
• Idleness
• Want
• Disease
• Ignorance

     In the Social-Democratic approach, it is believed that people are an investment. The Social Welfare system is essential to counteract poverty (Hick, 2007). Generally, this video would be seen as more of a Social-Democratic ideology because, as it lists the evils that can lead to poverty, it also identifies what the government can do to help. It states the need for government intervention.

      In order to avoid Squalor, there must be room for everyone and the housing prices must be kept low so that people of low income can still afford to have a roof over their heads. Government intervention would be needed for people that cannot quite afford this necessary expense. It would also be in the government's charge, whether it is on a Municipal, Provincial or National level, to remove the "slums" in place for better housing. In order to avoid Idleness, there is a need for jobs. A way that the government can help is by setting up Employment Centres. To no longer have Want is to provide the poor with necessary State benefits. Disease would be the fault in this English video that is not quite applicable to Canada, considering the fact that our Canadian government does provide and fund our Health-Care System. Finally, the last and arguably the most important factor, or "Evil", that leads to poverty: Ignorance. Without first targeting the roots of poverty, we cannot hope for change. Education may not be the one key to preventing poverty, but it sure helps when an individual is looking for employment. Speaking as a student, perhaps the way the government could service us all in this area would be by lowering the astronomical tuitions fees...

     While there are still many unignorable kinks in our system, we are fortunate enough to have a Health-Care System. Luckily, the Canadian citizens are not financially impaired (punished) for being sickly. However... it would appear as though the poor are further impaired due to the ways of things, the ways of our government's operations. In Canada, once you fall into the pits of poverty, it is a hardly made possible to pull yourself back out.

References

Heys, R. (August 13, 2012). The Beveridge Report. British Medical Journal. Retrieved December 11, 2012 from http://211.144.68.84:9998/91keshi/Public/File/38/345-7870/pdf/bmj.e5428.full.pdf

Sewell, Sophia. (2008, June 16). Poverty and the Welfare state: five evils I. Retrieved November 15, 2012 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weYttywhYbs

Hick, S. (2007). Social Welfare in Canada: Understanding Income Security. Second Edition. Toronto: Thompson Educational Pub.

~ Valerie