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Foundations of Social Policy: Social Justice in Human Perspective Amanda S. Barusch
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Dedicated to my beloved, Lawrence Roos Barusch
Preface
Social workers promote social justice. . . .
—PREAMBLE TO THE NASW CODE OF ETHICS (1996)
Social justice is central to the mission of social work and the focus of intense debate throughout the world. Social work professionals contribute to these debates, providing a personal and deeply empathetic understanding of the consequences of injustice for the vulnerable populations we serve.
Like most people, social workers (and social work students) understand justice less in an abstract sense and more in the ways events and conditions affect individual lives. This text takes a human perspective on social justice, focusing on the ways individuals shape policy as well as the ways policy touches our lives. Most chapters begin with human examples that help focus our analysis and critique. Content also includes biographical material on policy leaders and the direct experiences of social advocates. At the same time, the book takes a global look at social policy. Together, the international content and the human perspective prepare students to work effectively in policy arenas that extend beyond the traditional turf of social work and equip them to advocate for vulnerable people in the United States and throughout the world.
About the Book
This book is designed for use in foundation social policy courses and is organized in three parts. Part I introduces U.S. social policy and policy practice, Part II addresses social problems that have been (or are becoming) targets for collective action, and Part III focuses on vulnerable populations. A brief conclusion addresses global social policy concerns. Discussion topics, web-based exercises, suggested readings, and relevant websites are included at the end of each chapter.
Theoretical content is interspersed throughout. Social justice theory is addressed in detail in Chapter 1. The introduction to Part II offers a framework for understanding when and why certain problems become the targets of collective action. The introduction to Part III considers discrimination and oppression from a theoretical perspective and introduces the concepts of intersectionality and implicit bias. Finally, theories of liberation are discussed in the Conclusion.
Part I includes Chapters 1 through 3. Chapter 1 discusses social justice from theoretical and philosophical perspectives, tying these viewpoints to contemporary U.S. social policy. The role of government in promoting social justice is the focus of Chapter 2, which links philosophical perspectives to contemporary politics and describes the structure and function of the U.S. government and provides an introduction to U.S. tax policy. Chapter 3 begins with a case study in advocacy and then presents policy analysis frameworks and techniques before addressing philosophical and tactical considerations in policy practice.
Part II introduces a framework for determining when a group or a nation will develop collective responses to social problems. Chapters in this part of the book examine problems that have been approached through collective action in the United States: Social Security (Chapter 4), poverty and inequality (Chapter 5), physical illness (Chapter 6), mental illness (Chapter 7), disability (Chapter 8), and criminal justice (Chapter 9). Each chapter opens with a human perspective. These brief case studies are based on interviews with people chosen because their experiences illustrate key issues related to the chapter’s topic. Following the case study, we explore the development of policies and services, as well as contemporary policy issues and debates. These chapters provide background material necessary for students to apply the policy analysis frameworks introduced in Chapter 3.
Part III introduces the concepts of discrimination, oppression, implicit bias, and intersectionality. Each chapter explores a population that has experienced oppression in the United States: people of color (Chapter 10); gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered individuals (Chapter 11); children (Chapter 12); women (Chapter 13); the elderly (Chapter 14); and working Americans (Chapter 15). The structure of these chapters mirrors Part II, with the addition of major social/demographic trends affecting each population.
The book closes with a glance toward the future of our profession within a global context. Following an introduction to theories of liberation, the Conclusion revisits the philosophical perspectives presented in Chapter 1 and considers the implications of globalization, rising inequality, and environmental justice for the social welfare state and the social work profession.
What’s New in the Sixth Edition
When I began working on the first edition of this book, I never imagined it would extend to a sixth edition. Each revision has brought the tantalizing fantasy of absolute perfection, and each has delivered the slightly less tantalizing reality of steady improvement. Those familiar with previous editions of the book will find some changes. I have, of course, updated demographic figures and policy content, as well as the web-based exercises. In addition, I continue to revise in the hope of making the book more engaging and readable.
This edition reflects major sea changes in U.S. social policy. It has a new chapter on crime and criminal justice, not because the risk of crime is any more widespread than it was when the first edition came out, but because the risk of incarceration bears down so heavily on people of color and vulnerable communities. Another sea change: marriage equality and its ripple effects are celebrated in this edition. The election of Donald Trump is addressed, though its policy implications remain unclear as we go to press. The new edition also reflects changes more accurately characterized as “shifts” in policy and its context. It includes:
• Expanded treatment of inequality (trends, causes, and consequences) (Chapter 5)
• Introduction to “social impact bonding,” a new incarnation of privatization also known as “Pay for Success” (Chapter 4)
• Expanded content on trafficking as a labor issue (Chapter 15)
• Discussion of legalization of marijuana (Chapter 9)
• Consideration of the impact of the Affordable Care Act (Chapter 6)
• Introduction of the concept of “implicit bias” (Introduction to Part II)
• Discussion of the decline in U.S. manufacturing that set the stage for the election of Donald Trump (Chapter 15)
Additional new content is outlined below:
• Chapter 1 introduces new content on social class and upward .
• Chapter 2 introduces social impact bonding and discusses tax preparation for vulnerable taxpayers.
• Chapter 4 includes updates from the 2016 OASDI Trustee Report.
• Chapter 5 examines the global decline in poverty and, consistent with its new title, provides expanded content on inequality.
• Chapter 6 offers new content on the ACA, looking at its impact as well as the controversy over the requirement that insurance cover contraceptive care and the Supreme Court decisions in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores and King v. Burwell.
• Chapter 7 has a new box on the prevention of home-grown terrorism, as well as an introduction to the 21st Century Cures Act.
• Chapter 8 includes new content on the disproportionate representation of children of color in special education programs.
• Chapter 9 examines the history of criminal and juvenile justice, locating the roots of mass incarceration of Americans in the failed wars on crime and drugs. It considers the ripple effects of this phenomenon and the disproportionate representation of people of color in all components of the U.S. carceral state. The chapter also introduces the concept of restorative justice as an alternative paradigm.
• Chapter 11 discusses the Obergefell v. Hodges case, which established marriage equality in the United States, and explores policies that affect GLBTQ individuals.
• Chapter 12 includes an expanded discussion of trauma, referencing the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) studies.
• Chapter 14 discusses recent expansions in access to assisted suicide through state legislation and referendums.
• Chapter 15 examines the causes and consequences of the decline in U.S. manufacturing.
About the Educational Policy and Accreditations Standards (EPAS)
Established in 1952, the Council on Social Work Education is charged with ensuring that social work programs throughout the United States meet certain standards.1 In 2015, these standards were revised to refine the 2008 focus on competency-based education. Following a consultative process, nine core competencies were identified by the Commission on Accreditation. Each social work program must now demonstrate how it delivers and assesses these core competencies, most of which relate to some aspect of policy analysis or policy practice. Table P.1 inside the front cover summarizes the EPAS competencies and indicates where they are addressed in this text.
Instructor Supplements
The Online Instructor’s Manual contains information to assist the instructor in designing the course, including assignment rubrics, discussion questions, teaching and learning activities, learning objectives, and additional online resources. The Online Test Bank includes true/false, multiple-choice, and essay questions for each chapter. Each question is tied to learning objectives and EPAS standards.
1Although global standards have been approved by the International Association of Schools of Social Work in cooperation with the International Federation of Social Workers (Sewpaul & Jones, 2004), there is no international accrediting authority for the profession: each nation operates a separate process.
Online PowerPoint Slides are available to assist instructors with their lecture by providing concept coverage using images, figures, and tables directly from the textbook.
An Online Curriculum Quick Guide provides instructors with a table to correlate the core text and available test bank questions with updated EPAS standards.
MindTap
MindTap®, a digital teaching and learning solution, helps students be more successful and confident in the course — and in their work with clients. MindTap guides students through the course by combining the complete textbook with interactive multimedia, activities, assessments, and learning tools. Readings and activities engage students in learning core concepts, practicing needed skills, reflecting on their attitudes and opinions, and applying what they learn. Videos of client sessions illustrate skills and concepts in action, while case studies ask students to make decisions and think critically about the types of situations they’ll encounter on the job. Helper Studio activities put students in the role of the helper, allowing them to build and practice skills in a non-threatening environment by responding via video to a virtual client. Instructors can rearrange and add content to personalize their MindTap course and easily track students’ progress with real-time analytics. Finally, MindTap integrates seamlessly with any learning management system.
An Invitation
Since the first edition of this book was published, I have received phone calls, e-mails, and visits from readers offering suggestions, corrections, and compliments. This input is terrifically valuable each time I update the book. Whether you are an instructor or a student, I would love to hear from you! Let me know what works and (more important, really) what doesn’t work in this new edition. Please send your comments to Amanda.Barusch@socwk.utah.edu, with “foundations text” in the subject line, or write me at the College of Social Work, 395 South 1500 East, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112. I look forward to hearing from you.
Acknowledgments
Each edition of this book benefited from the talents and energies of my students, colleagues, and friends at the University of Utah and the University of Otago, my home away from home in New Zealand.
The sixth edition of this book reflects the creative efforts of many. Janet Tilden served as copy editor. Her careful attention to detail and commitment to excellence is evident in every page. Cengage Content Developer Alexander Hancock kept me going while he lined up images and managed endless details for Cengage. He shepherded the publication process with great élan. Sharib Asrar, Associate Program Manager at Lumina Datamatics, saw the manuscript through production.
People from various walks of life shared their experiences with me to contribute to the education of professional social workers. The stories they told enrich every chapter. Although I can’t name them here, I will always be grateful for the time we spent together. My family is at the center of everything. My husband Larry tolerated my absence and distraction with infinite patience and served as my resident expert on taxation and homelessness. Our children are a constant source of amazement and inspiration. Nathan questions the habits and assumptions of medical practice even as he delivers psychiatric care to those with mental illness. Meanwhile, in her legal practice, Ariana fights every day to protect the rights of vulnerable families and individuals.
Brief Contents
Preface iv
PART I Policy Analysis: Frameworks and Tools 1
CHAPTER 1 Social Justice and Social Workers 3
CHAPTER 2 The Government’s Role 25
CHAPTER 3 Policy Analysis and Policy Practice 59
PART II Collective Responses to Social Problems 93
CHAPTER 4 The Social Security Act 99
CHAPTER 5 Poverty and Inequality 133
CHAPTER 6 Health 181
CHAPTER 7 Mental Health 227
CHAPTER 8 Disability 261
CHAPTER 9 Crime and Criminal Justice 287
PART II I Vulnerable Populations: Discrimination and Oppression 319
CHAPTER 10 People of Color 323
CHAPTER 11 Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Trans Individuals 361
CHAPTER 12 Children 389
CHAPTER 13 Women 421
CHAPTER 14 Older Adults 449
CHAPTER 15 Working Americans 483
Conclusion: Cycles of Liberation 527
References 539
Name Index 575
Subject Index 581
Preface iv
PART I Policy Analysis: Frameworks and Tools 1
CHAPTER 1 Social Justice and Social Workers 3
LO 1-1 Develop a Well-Informed Definition of Social Justice 3 Defining Justice: A Modern Approach 4 Defining Justice: A Postmodern Approach 5
LO 1-2 Understand the Processes by Which Social Justice Is Achieved 6
LO 1-3 Identify the Components of Social Justice 8 Human Rights 9 Equality 12
LO 1-4 Discuss the Philosophical Underpinnings of Capitalism and Its Alternatives 13 Libertarian Philosophy 14 Liberal Philosophy 15 Socialist Philosophy 17
LO 1-5 Discuss the Relevance of Social Justice for Micro and Macro Practices 18 Social Justice Is Personal and Political 18 Families Teach Social Justice 19 Injustice Undermines Social Bonds and Nation-States 20
LO 1-6 Describe the Role of the Social Work Profession in Promoting Social Justice 20 Bertha Capen Reynolds: A Profile 20
CHAPTER 2 The Government’s Role 25
LO 2-1 Understand the Philosophical Perspectives of Contemporary Political Parties and Political Labels 26 Political Parties 26 Political Labels 28
LO 2-2 Describe the Workings and Interactions of Federal, State, and Local Levels of Government 29
LO 2-3 Describe the Workings of the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches of Government 31 The Legislative Branch 31 The Executive Branch 38 The Judicial Branch 40
LO 2-4 Understand Privatization and Its Theoretical and Practical Limits 41 Limits of Privatization 43
LO 2-5 Understand the Structure and Philosophical Underpinnings of the U.S. Tax System 46 Structural and Philosophical Considerations 46 A Brief History of Federal Taxes 51
CHAPTER 3 Policy Analysis and Policy Practice 59
LO 3-1 Understand What Constitutes Policy Practice 63
LO 3-2 Conduct an Effective Policy Analysis 63 Choosing a Policy Analysis Framework 63 Conducting Process, Implementation, or Impact Appraisal 65 Process Approaches 65 Implementation Appraisal 68 Impact Appraisal 70
LO 3-3 Practice Effective Advocacy 75 Preparing, Composing, and Delivering Arguments 75 Negotiation and Compromise 79 Use of Relationship 80 Building and Maintaining Coalitions 80
LO 3-4 Understand the Meaning and Processes of Empowerment 81
LO 3-5 Identify Ethical Issues in Policy Practice 82 Is Advocacy an Ethical Obligation? 82 Sharpening the Message 83 Using Clients 83 Keeping Confidences 84 Characteristics of Ethical Persuasion 84
LO 3-6 Understand Legal Considerations That Affect Policy Practice 85 The Hatch Act 85
Preserving Tax-Exempt Status 86
PART II Collective Responses to Social Problems 93
CHAPTER 4 The Social Security Act 99
LO 4-1 Discuss the Historical Foundations of Social Insurance in Western Europe and the United States 101
Social Insurance in Western Europe 101
Social Security in the United States 102
LO 4-2 Become Familiar with the History and Current Structure of Key Social Insurance Programs
Authorized Under the Social Security Act 104
Old-age and Survivors Insurance 105 How OASI Operates: The Nuts and Bolts 107
Unemployment Insurance 109
Disability Insurance 110
Medical Insurance 112
LO 4-3 Understand Contemporary Debates and Proposals to Address the Solvency of Old Age and Survivors Insurance 114
The Solvency Issue 114
“Reforming” Social Security 115 Reform Proposals for Women 119
Reform Proposals for Dual-Earner Couples 120
LO 4-4 Become Familiar with the History and Basic Structure of Means-tested Programs Authorized Under the Social Security Act 122
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) 122
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 123
Medical Care for the Indigent: Medicaid 125
LO 4-5 Become Familiar with Health and Social Service Programs Authorized Under the Social Security Act 126
Child Welfare Services (Title Iv) 126
Maternal and Child Health Services (Title v) 127
Social Services Block Grant (Title XX) 127
Children’s Health Insurance Program (Title XXI) 127
LO 4-6 Understand the Philosophical Foundations of Social Security in the United States 128
CHAPTER 5 Poverty and Inequality 133
LO 5-1 Discuss How Poverty Has Been Defined and Understand the Implications of Various Definitions 136 Critiques of the Poverty Threshold 137
LO 5-2 Understand the Values and Beliefs That Inform American Policies Toward the Poor 139 Religious Beliefs About Charity 139 Poverty as Crime 140
Poverty as Motivation 140
Human Capital Explanations of Poverty 141
Culture of Poverty Explanations 142
Restricted Opportunity Theories of Poverty 143 The Pauperization Argument 143
LO 5-3 Become Familiar with the History of Poverty Interventions in the United States 144 English Approaches to Poverty 144 American Approaches to Poverty 145
LO 5-4 Describe Contemporary Issues Affecting Key Programs That Serve America’s Poor 159 Medicaid 160 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Food Stamps) 161 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families 162 Supplemental Security Income 164 Housing Assistance 165 Summary of Attitudes and Interventions 166
LO 5-5 Know Who Is Most Likely to Be Poor in the United States 167 Characteristics of America’s Poor 167
LO 5-6 Understand the Secondary Risks Associated with Poverty 169 Homelessness 169 violence 172
Welfare Fraud 173
LO 5-7 Become Aware of Rising Inequality, Its Causes, and Its Consequences 174
CHAPTER 6 Health 181
LO 6-1 Become Familiar with the History of Public Health in the United States 182 Federal Health Agencies 186
LO 6-2 Understand the Government’s Role in Financing Health Care Through Medicaid and Medicare 190
Medicaid 191
Medicare 194
LO 6-3 Understand the Role of the Private Market in Financing and Delivering Health Care 198 Insurance Basics 199
LO 6-4 Understand Health Disparities and Sociodemographic Factors that Influence Health Outcomes in the United States 200 Poverty and Health Disparities 200 The Uninsured 201 Race and Health Disparities 201 Gender and Health 204 What Causes These Health Disparities? 204
HIv/AIDS and Health Disparities 205
LO 6-5 Discuss How Health Expenditures and Outcomes in the United States Compare with Those of Other Nations 208 Health Expenditures and Health Outcomes 208 Health Outcomes 208
LO 6-6 Become Aware of Global Health Inequities 210 Modern Epidemics and Global Governance 211
LO 6-7 Know the History and Current Status of Health-Care Reform in the United States 213 Assigning Risk 213
Market-based Solutions versus Public Provision of Care 214
Insurance Regulation 215 Managed Care 216
Single-Payer Proposals 216
Health-Care Reform in Massachusetts 217
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) 218
LO 6-8 Describe the Role(s) Social Workers Play in Health Policy 223
CHAPTER 7 Mental Health 227
LO 7-1 Understand the Social Construction of Mental Illness and the Role the DSM Has Played in This Process 230
LO 7-2 Reflect on the Values and Beliefs That Influence Mental Health Policy in the United States 232
Mental Illness as Eccentricity 232
Mental Illness as Sin 232
Mental Illness as Disease 232
Mental Illness as Disability 233
LO 7-3 Become Familiar with the History of Mental Health Interventions in the United States 233
Care of People with Mental Illness in Colonial America 233
The Promise of the Asylum 234
Dorothea Dix, “Apostle to the Insane” 235 Commitment as Incarceration 237
Preventing Mental Illness: The Mental Hygiene Movement 237
Mental Health Treatments During the Depression and World War II 238
Federal Involvement in Mental Health 239
The Community Mental Health Movement and Deinstitutionalization 240
Mentally Ill Offenders in the Criminal Justice System 242
LO 7-4 Describe Factors That Influence Contemporary Approaches to Mental Illness 244
Prevalence of Mental Illness 244
Social Class and Mental Illness 246
Substance Use and Mental Illness 247
Prevention of Substance Abuse and Mental Illness 248
Homelessness and Mental Illness 249 violence and Mental Illness 249
LO 7-5 Describe the Structure and Financing of Mental Health Services in the United States 250
Financing Mental Health Care 251
Access to Treatment 252
Managed Care and Mental Health Services 253
LO 7-6 Become Familiar with the Role of Social Workers in the U.S. Mental Health System 254 Licensing 254
Duty To Warn 254
LO 7-7 Understand Emerging Policy Issues Related to Mental Health 254
Involuntary Commitment 255
Mandatory Outpatient Treatment 255
Insurance Parity 256
CHAPTER 8 Disability 261
LO 8-1 Understand Major Approaches to Defining Disability and Their Policy Implications 262
LO 8-2 Become Familiar with the History of Disability Policies in the United States 265
Income Supports for Disabled veterans and Workers 266
Addiction as Disability 267 vocational Training 268
Education and Support for Children with Disabilities 269 The Disability Rights Era 271 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 272
LO 8-3 Become Aware of Trends in the Prevalence of Disabilities in the United States 275
LO 8-4 Understand How Race/Ethnicity and Social Class Affect the Experiences of People with Disabilities 276 Disability and Race/Ethnicity 277 Disability and Social Class 278
LO 8-5 Reflect on Emerging Issues in Disability Policy 279
CHAPTER 9 Crime and Criminal Justice 287
LO 9-1 Understand the History of the U.S. Criminal Justice System 291 Colonial Justice 291 Birth of the Penitentiary 293 Southern Justice 294 Federal Justice 295 A New War 299
LO 9-2 Be Familiar with the Development of the U.S. Juvenile Justice System 300 Justice for the Dangerous Classes 300 The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 301 Other Forms of Child villainy 302
LO 9-3 Be Aware of Contemporary Trends in Incarceration and Their Implications 304 Incarceration Nation 304 War on Drugs Revisited 305 Changes in Criminal Justice Policy 307
LO 9-4 Be Familiar with the Basic Structure and Operation of the U.S. Criminal Justice System 308 The Carceral State 308 The Courts 310 Corrections 311
LO 9-5 Become Aware of the Disproportionate Representation of People of Color Throughout the U.S. Criminal Justice System 312 Disproportionate Representation 312
LO 9-6 Become Aware of Proposals to Reform the U.S. Criminal Justice System 314 Criminal Justice Reform 314
LO 9-7 Be Familiar with the Role Social Workers Play in the U.S. Criminal Justice System 315 Forensic Social Work 315
PART I II
Vulnerable Populations: Discrimination and Oppression 319
CHAPTER 10 People of Color 323
LO 10-1 Understand the Social Construction of Race and Theories of Racism 324 Racism 328
LO 10-2 Become Aware of the Changing Racial Profile of the United States and the Shifting Role of Government Vis à Vis Race and Ethnicity 329
LO 10-3 Reflect on the Role of History in Shaping the Experiences of African Americans 330 Slavery and Its Aftermath 331 The New Deal 335 The Civil Rights Movement 335 Current Realities 336
LO 10-4 Reflect on the Role of History in Shaping the Current Experiences of Hispanic or Latino Americans 338 Mexican Americans 339 Immigrants from Puerto Rico, Latin American Countries, and Cuba 340 Current Realities 341
LO 10-5 Reflect on the Role of History in Shaping the Current Experiences of Asian Americans 341 Chinese Immigrants 342 Japanese Immigrants 343 Current Realities 344
LO 10-6 Reflect on the Role of History in Shaping the Current Experiences of Native Americans 345 Initial Contact and Treaty Making 345 Removal and Relocation 346 Forced Assimilation 347 Termination 349 Current Realities: Self-determination 350 Emerging Policies 351
LO 10-7 Understand the Role Immigration Plays in Shaping and Reflecting Race Relations in the United States 351
LO 10-8 Analyze and Critique Hate Crime Legislation 353
LO 10-9 Understand the Background and Impacts of English-Only Laws 355
LO 10-10 Describe the Differential Impact of Standardized Testing on People of Color 356
LO 10-11 Become Aware of Factors That Can Interfere with the Voting Rights of Americans of Color 357
CHAPTER 11 Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Trans Individuals 361
LO 11-1 Know How Our Understandings of Sexual Orientation and Gender Have Evolved 365 Sexual Orientation 365 Gender 366 A Sexual Minority 367
LO 11-2 Become Familiar with the History of Policies That Affect Families of GLBT Individuals 368 Sodomy 368
Marriage Equality 369
Parenting 374
Adoption 375 Divorce 375
LO 11-3 Become Aware of the History and Current Status of Legislation Governing Discrimination Against GLBT Individuals 375 Colorado Amendment Two 376 Oregon Initiatives 377 Anti-Discrimination Statutes 377 The Boy Scouts of America 379
LO 11-4 Know the History of Anti-GLBT Violence and Hate Crime Legislation in the United States 379
LO 11-5 Understand the Impact of HIV/AIDS on the GLBT Community and Social Policy Measures to Address the Epidemic 380
LO 11-6 Become Aware of Recent Developments in Policy Related to GLBT Individuals 381 GLBT Individuals in the Military 381 Trans Rights 382
LO 11-7 Understand the Issues Affecting GLBT Individuals from a Social Justice Perspective That Recognizes the Role and Responsibilities of Social Workers 383
CHAPTER 12 Children 389
LO 12-1 Become Aware of How History, Culture, and Economics Have Influenced Western Conceptions of Childhood 392 Children as Assets and the Dangerous Classes 393
Childhood in Modern America 394
LO 12-2 Understand Contemporary Issues That Influence Adoption in the United States 394 Transracial or Transcultural Adoption 394
LO 12-3 Become Aware of the Background and Contemporary Issues Affecting the Education of Children in the United States 397
Compulsory Attendance Laws 399 An Expanded Federal Presence 399
Desegregation 400 Head Start 401
Educating Children with Disabilities 402 Modern Educational Reforms 403
LO 12-4 Understand How Children in the United States Have Been Victimized Through Poverty and Violence 407 Poverty and Children, Past and Present 407 violence Against Children, Past and Present 409 Bullying 414
LO 12-5 Become Aware That Children of Color Are Disproportionately Represented in the U.S. Child Welfare System 416
LO 12-6 Know the Role Social Workers Play in Policy Practice Related to Children 416
CHAPTER 13 Women 421
LO 13-1 Know About Past and Present Social Policies Affecting Women’s Roles as Wives and Mothers 422 Property Rights and Credit 422 Divorce 422
LO 13-2 Know About Past and Present Social Policies Concerning Women’s Reproductive Rights 428 Abortion and Birth Control 428 An International Perspective on Abortion 432 Involuntary Sterilization 433 Prescription Equity 434
LO 13-3 Know About Past and Present Policies Regarding Violence Against Women 435 Domestic violence 435 Sexual violence 437
LO 13-4 Become Aware of Policy Issues Affecting Women in the Workplace 438
LO 13-5 Become Aware of Policy Issues Affecting Women in the Military 439
LO 13-6 Reflect on Women’s Struggle for Political Equality 440 Suffrage 440 The Equal Rights Amendment 442
LO 13-7 Understand Some of the Challenges Women Face in the Social Work Profession 444
CHAPTER 14 Older Adults 449
LO 14-1 Understand How Old Age Has Been Defined 450
LO 14-2 Consider How Social and Economic Factors Influenced the Status of Older Adults in Colonial America 453
Native Americans 453 African Americans 454
European Immigrants 455
LO 14-3 Appreciate Historic Shifts in Americans’ Attitudes Toward Older Adults 456
LO 14-4 Reflect on the Origins of Contemporary Programs and Policies That Affect Older Adults 457
Public Relief for Needy Elders 457 Informal Assistance Among African Americans 459
Public Pensions for veterans 459
LO 14-5 Examine Contemporary Attitudes Toward Aging and Older Adults 460
Intergenerational Equity 460
Productive Aging: An Attitude Shift 461
LO 14-6 Become Familiar with the Demographic and Economic Realities That Shape Aging Today 461
The Graying of America 461 Income and Age 463
LO 14-7 Become Familiar with Contemporary Programs and Policies That Affect Older Adults in the United States 467
The Older Americans Act and Age-based Services 467
Public Policies and Private Pensions 470
Adult Protective Services 473
LO 14-8 Reflect on Specialized Issues Affecting Health Care for Older Adults 474
Long-term Care 474
Rationing Health Care by Age 476
End-of-life Care 477
Assisted Suicide 477
LO 14-9 Become Aware of the Unmet Need for Social Work Professionals to Serve Older Adults 479
CHAPTER 15 Working Americans 483
LO 15-1 Become Familiar with the History of Labor in the United States and Abroad 484
LO 15-2 Understand How Historic Developments Like the Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement Influenced the Labor Movement 484
The Cold War 487
The Civil Rights Movement 488
LO 15-3 Appreciate the Influence of Affirmative Action on American Workers 489
LO 15-4 Become Familiar with Immigration Policies and Their Influence on American Workers 493
LO 15-5 Become Familiar with the History of U.S. Policies Protecting Women and Children in the Workplace 496
Women in the U.S. Labor Force 496
Child Labor: A Target of Reform 500
LO 15-6 Become Aware of the Historic Role of Social Workers in the Labor Movement 501
LO 15-7 Reflect on Contemporary Realities That Shape the Experiences of U.S. Workers 504 Work as an Antipoverty Strategy 504 Inequality and U.S. Workers 504 The Decline of U.S. Manufacturing 506
Rising Productivity 506
“It’s All About Benefits” 507 Unemployment in the United States 508
LO 15-8 Become Familiar with U.S. Policies That Affect Vulnerable Groups in the Workplace 509 Women as Workers in Today’s Workforce 509 People of Color 514
LO 15-9 Understand Key Provisions of U.S. Labor Policies 514 Wages and Benefits 515
Protective and Antidiscrimination Statutes 517
Health and Safety Policies 519 Discharge Policies 521
Earned Income Tax Credit 522
LO 15-10 Understand the Impact of Globalization on Workers in the United States and Elsewhere 522
Conclusion: Cycles of Liberation 527
References 539
Name Index 575
Subject Index 581
I
Policy Analysis: Frameworks and Tools
Social justice is central to social work practice. But what is it? This is the focus of Part I, which moves from a broad theoretical consideration of social justice, through the role of government as a vehicle for promoting social justice, to the application of a social justice framework in policy practice. Chapter 1 reviews modern and postmodern approaches to defining this surprisingly elusive concept. Processes and components of justice are considered, and the link between justice and human rights is introduced. The chapter then examines three philosophical conceptions of social justice. Understanding these divergent perspectives will strengthen your analytic skills, enabling you to recognize the assumptions underlying other people’s arguments and to frame your own arguments in terms more likely to persuade. Following a brief discussion of inequality, the chapter explores
the role of social work in america’s pursuit of social justice and introduces Bertha Capen r eynolds, a 20th-century policy practitioner. Government is an important vehicle for defining and promoting social justice. Chapter 2 examines the philosophical perspectives of political parties and offers a general description of the structure and processes of the U.S. government and an introduction to privatization. Chapter 2 provides a brief introduction to the nation’s tax system that considers not only the mechanics but also the philosophical assumptions that drive the system. For some readers, this chapter will be a review, but for most it offers new insights and useful reference material. Chapter 3 turns to policy practice skills, focusing on analysis and advocacy strategies. The chapter presents a brief definition of policy practice followed by an extensive discussion of policy analysis that addresses advocacy and empowerment, drawing upon advice and experiences of advocates throughout the country. Chapter 3 closes with the ethical issues and legal considerations that influence policy practice.
CHAPTER 1 Social Justice and Social Workers
No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
MARTIN
LUTHER KING JR.
Learning Objectives
This chapter will help prepare students to:
LO 1-1
LO 1-2
LO 1-3
LO 1-4
LO 1-5
LO 1-6
Develop a well-informed definition of social justice
Understand the processes by which social justice is achieved
Identify the components of social justice
Discuss the philosophical underpinnings of capitalism and its alternatives
Discuss the relevance of social justice for micro and macro practice
Describe the role of the social work profession in promoting social justice
Develop a Well-Informed Definition of Social Justice
“Social workers promote social justice,” according to the preamble to the National association of Social Workers Code of Ethics (NaSW, n.d.). This simple statement raises a slew of questions, beginning with definitions. What is social justice? Here, we consider two approaches to this question that stem from contrasting views on the nature of reality: the “modern” and the “postmodern.” The modern view treats justice as an objective, achievable end, or goal. Social workers often take this perspective, setting forth the characteristics of a just society. The postmodern view rejects the idea of an objective standard and holds that justice is socially constructed. This approach shifts our attention to the process by which groups and societies decide what is just.1 LO 1-1
EP 2 EP 3a
1 The terms “social justice,” “social and economic justice,” and “distributive justice” are often used interchangeably. In this book, I use the term “social justice” to be consistent with our professional literature.
A HumAn PersPective Melissa Williams
On a hot day in June, 150 people, mostly women, met in a hotel to discuss welfare and domestic violence. The program was led by a social worker and attended by state legislators, social workers, welfare administrators, academics, advocates, and religious leaders. In the context of a national debate about welfare reform, this session was designed to raise awareness of the importance of welfare as a resource for women leaving abusive homes. One such woman was Melissa Williams. During the luncheon, she and three other women told their stories.
Melissa is an attractive young woman with flowing blond hair and a gentle, reflective way of speaking. Clearly intimidated by the size of the group and the lectern in front of her, she spoke haltingly of her experiences with welfare and domestic violence.
Melissa grew up in a working-class family. Her father worked for a mining company and had little interest in children, let alone female children. Her mother was a silent woman, struggling to raise a large family on a miner’s salary. Neither parent was physically abusive, but both reminded the children repeatedly that they were “worth less than nothing.” For Melissa this emotional abuse intensified during puberty. Miserable in her own family, Melissa saw marriage to her boyfriend, Will, as a way out. Will was strong, energetic, and determined. He seemed to have the world by the tail and promised the protection and appreciation that Melissa had never enjoyed. a t 16, she married him. She laughed, recalling that “everyone thought we had to get married, but I wasn’t even pregnant!”
Melissa did get pregnant immediately and left high school. Her husband finished high school and found a “good job”—one with health benefits. They rented an apartment and settled in. Three children were born in rapid succession. Will’s job began to feel more and more like a dead end, and he took to hanging out in bars with old high school friends. He’d come home drunk and take out his anger on Melissa. Her medical records show three
visits to the emergency room with facial bruising, lacerations, and a broken arm.
Suffering from a debilitating depression, Melissa was not roused to action until Will attacked one of the children. It was just a slap, but it was enough to send Melissa back to her parents’ home, where her depression worsened. Her parents encouraged Melissa to stay away from her husband, but they could not afford to support Melissa and her three children. So, one day, Melissa and her mother took the bus to the welfare office. Melissa was enrolled in the “self-sufficiency program” and awarded emergency housing assistance. Depression was identified as a barrier to employment, and her caseworker arranged for counseling and medication. She also introduced Melissa to a women’s advocacy group called JEDI Women (Justice, Economic Dignity, and Independence for Women).
a t the time of the conference, Melissa was living independently with her children. She had divorced her husband and did not expect to remarry. antidepressants and a support group were critical to her ongoing success. Her children had residual health and behavioral problems from witnessing domestic violence.
Deeply moved by Melissa’s experience, her audience resolved to ensure that welfare reform in their state would not eliminate a key resource for women leaving abusive relationships. a few weeks later, President Clinton signed an executive order establishing a national hotline for victims of domestic abuse. Today, the state exempts victims of domestic violence from lifetime limits on public assistance.
This commitment to devote public resources to protect abused women represents a public decision about what constitutes social justice in today’s society. It reveals a belief that the suffering caused by domestic violence is not a cost that women should bear alone but a social problem that demands a collective response. as we review diverse approaches to defining social justice, consider the implications of each approach for Melissa and women like her.
DEFINING JUSTICE: A MODERN APPROACH
Lee ann Bell offers a modern vision of a just society. For her, it is one “in which the distribution of resources is equitable and all members are physically and psychologically safe and secure. We envision a society in which individuals are both self-determining (able to develop their full capacities), and interdependent (capable of interacting democratically with others)” (Bell, 1997, p. 3).
Social work writings often define a just society by the absence of injustice. So, for example, in their description of “emancipatory learning,” Van Soest and Garcia (2003, p. vii) suggest that “[u]ltimately, the goal is to prepare social workers and other helping professionals to transform oppressive and unjust systems into non-oppressive and just alternatives.” Similarly, van Wormer (2004) defined injustice as the result of inequality and oppression, urging social workers to devote themselves to eliminating these conditions through a commitment to restorative justice.
Thoughtful consideration of this issue is found in David Gil’s work, Confronting Injustice and Oppression (1998). a social work professor at Brandeis University, Gil locates the inspiration for this work in his experiences during the 1938 German occupation of austria, which left him committed to reversing cycles of injustice and oppression. Gil defines justice as the opposite of injustice and oppression and directs social workers’ attention to five key institutions of social life:
1. Stewardship (care of natural and human-created resources)
2. Organization of work and production
3. Exchange and distribution of goods, rights, and responsibilities
4. Governance
5. Biological reproduction, socialization, and social control
He argues that just societies treat people as equals, with equal rights and responsibilities in each of these five institutions.
Gil explicitly states two assumptions shared by all four of these social work authors: oppression is not inevitable, and a just society is achievable. Indeed, it would be hard to imagine anyone who did not share this belief pursuing a career in social work. Our moments of despair come when events challenge this cherished belief. Like Engels (The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State, 1884/1972), Gil (1998) argues that perfectly just human societies are possible and that they existed before technological and social change allowed for a stable economic surplus.
Of course, social workers are not the only ones to take a modern perspective on justice. Others, from Plato to Ayn Rand, have done so as well. Where rand’s philosophy of Objectivism promotes “rational selfishness” as the key to a just society, Plato’s Republic offers a utopian vision in which rulers do not own private property, which allows them to concentrate on pursuing the common good. His “best-ordered state” has a communitarian feel: “[W]hen any one of the citizens experiences any good or evil, the whole state will make his case their own” (Edman, 1956, p. 416).
Plato argues that utopian visions need not necessarily be achievable. He rejects the claims of critics charging that his ideal city-state never existed, saying, “We were enquiring into the nature of absolute justice and the perfectly unjust, that we might have an ideal… would a painter be any the worse because, after having delineated with consummate art an ideal of a perfectly beautiful man, he was unable to show that any such man could ever have existed?” (Edman, 1956, p. 430). Justice is a virtue, and a just society is an ideal. The modern approach articulates that ideal and energizes social workers by focusing our efforts on pursuing an inspiring goal.
DEFINING JUSTICE: A POSTMODERN APPROACH
a postmodern approach to defining justice shifts our focus from the end (justice) to the process involved as people strive for justice.
The postmodern approach is not limited to contemporary scholars. In ancient Greece, aristotle wrote, “[F]ire burns both in Greece and in Persia; but conceptions of justice shift and
change” (Barker, 1962, p. 365, italics added). More than two thousand years later, in 1863, John Stuart Mill made a similar observation:
The entire history of social improvement has been a series of transitions by which one custom or institution after another, from being a supposed primary necessity of social existence, has passed into the rank of a universally stigmatized injustice and tyranny. So it has been with the distinctions of slaves and freemen, nobles and serfs, patricians and plebeians; and so it will be, and in part already is, with the aristocracies of color, race, and sex. (Sterba, 1980, p. 104)
The accelerated pace of change in recent years has brought this observation into focus. For many, the “postmodern” era has brought a rejection of “objective” or “absolute” truth and a dawning recognition that truth may be socially constructed. Thus, conceptions of justice vary from group to group and change throughout the history of societies, families, and individuals. Absolute justice is a misnomer. Groups of all sizes strive to achieve an acceptable state of relative justice.
The social justice framework in this book relies on a postmodern definition: Justice is fair allocation of the costs and rewards of group membership 2
Costs of group membership range from the taxes paid by residents in a nation-state to the chores completed by the members of a family. Benefits may be labeled as such ( Social Security benefits ), or they may be more subtle (a sense of personal security). a s we will see in Chapter 3, costs and benefits may be experienced immediately (like taxes or welfare checks), or they may accrue over a long period of time (like cancer risk or privilege).
The costs and benefits of group membership are allocated through social justice processes. Mundane decisions about who gets to use the family car reflect fundamental beliefs about what is a “just” or “fair” distribution of this benefit. In the United States, the benefits of citizenship include entitlements such as Social Security, tax deductions for home mortgage interest, and Medicaid.
Debates about social justice come up in groups of any size. They arise in families, for example, when new parents struggle to decide how to divide the responsibilities of rearing their baby. They come up in societies as well, as when members of the U.S. Congress debate tax reform proposals. Disputes about how many diapers a father should change or how much tax a corporation should pay are fundamentally social justice debates.
Understand the Processes by Which Social Justice Is Achieved
Social justice process refers to the way a group of any size allocates the costs and benefits of membership. Sometimes, as with the formal development of social policy, these processes are open and public (and laborious!). Other times, allocation rules are implicit and assumed, noticed only when they are breached. Critical theory and related perspectives in the social sciences have taught us to question these rules even though it may take a social movement to change them.
Good process does not guarantee a fair outcome. Yet wars have been fought and tears shed over unfair processes that are virtually guaranteed to produce an outcome that is not perceived as just. Fair process is necessary but not sufficient for achieving just outcomes.
2While doing research for the second edition of this book, I discovered the work of David Miller, a fellow at Oxford College. Miller’s definition of justice is similar: “[T]he subject-matter of justice is the manner in which benefits and burdens are distributed among men whose qualities and relationships can be investigated” (1976, p. 19).
Fair Process
Principle #1: Individuals should be treated as political equals.
The nature of the decision determines what we consider a fair process, with some types of decisions made by a single authority and others subject to democratic processes. For instance, the president of the United States can accomplish some changes through executive orders, but changes in the Constitution require ratification by Congress and state legislatures.
Groups and cultures differ in what they consider a fair process. Generally, if the allocation rules used by the group are considered fair by members of that group, then the group has achieved a measure of social justice. Culturally competent practice calls on social workers to understand and respect the processes by which diverse cultures seek to achieve justice.
Justice in process involves three key concepts: membership, voice, and the rule of law Membership refers to the group’s boundaries for distinguishing between “us” and “them.” These boundaries often work to exclude what Bruce Jansson (2002) calls “out groups.” People who differ from the majority of group members are vulnerable to being labeled “other” and denied membership. as a result, they may be deprived of group benefits and excluded from debate on matters that affect them. For example, a family may question its obligation to provide care to an elderly grandmother on the grounds that she is not “really” a member of the immediate family. a nation may question the provision of cash benefits to immigrants who are not “really” citizens. as we will see in later chapters, most of the history of the United States has been marked by progress toward extension of political and civil rights to those once considered undeserving. Women’s suffrage and the civil rights movement are examples of a society redefining the terms of membership. Western democratic traditions have reached general agreement about what is and is not fair in decision making. These are summarized in three fair process principles The first of these principles, a belief in political equality, is central to liberal philosophy and democratic thought. although some people are privileged by birth and others by wealth, these privileges should not extend to the political sphere. To the extent that they do, this principle is violated.
Fair Process Principle #2: All parties affected by a decision should have a voice in the decision.
Fair Process Principle #3: Formal rules should apply equally to all similarly situated parties.
Voice refers to a person’s ability to influence decision making within the group. a t all levels of social organization, an individual’s voice will be determined by the extent to which others hear and attend to that person’s concerns. a mericans have a strong preference for giving voice to people who are affected by decisions. Thus, our second fair process principle holds that all parties affected by a decision should have a voice in the decision. Violation of this principle was the stated cause of the Boston Tea Party. In elementary school, a mericans are taught that wild-eyed colonists dressed up as Indians and threw bags of British tea into Boston Bay, shouting, “No taxation without representation!”
The rule of law is a third important component of just process. When formal rules are not universally and consistently applied, we cry “foul.” In our country, we expect the law to apply equally to everyone. The notion of equal protection is embedded in the U.S. Constitution. But legislators cannot anticipate every eventuality, and individuals may disagree on what is a “similarly situated” party. This ambiguity keeps judges and lawyers occupied but should not detract from our general belief that no one is above the law.
But if a policy is legal, is it necessarily just? Does majority rule make for fair decisions? Like most of us, a ristotle answered “not necessarily.” Aristotle distinguished between equity and justice, arguing that although they are made of the same stuff, equity is more universal and more natural than justice. For him, equity is akin to natural justice, which is broader than legal justice. Legal justice establishes rules that, even if perfectly followed, can lead to inequitable results. “The same thing, then, is just and equitable, and while both are good the equitable is superior” (Bostock, 2000, p. 133).
Identify the Components of Social Justice
Miller (1976, 1999) identifies four components of social justice: desert, need, rights, and equality. The first three can be illustrated using a simple hypothetical situation adapted from Miller (1976). Suppose I hire three children to clean my windows, and I promise to pay them one dollar each for their efforts. Throughout the day I watch them work, and I observe that one child (the first child) is industriously cleaning. This child does more than her fair share of the work and does it very well. The other two dawdle along. One of them (the second child) looks ill. When I ask what’s wrong, he tells me that he hasn’t eaten for two days because his family has no money for food. The third child has no explanation for her sloughing but looks forward to receiving her dollar at the end of the day.
The first child represents desert. a n outcome is considered just when each person involved gets what he or she deserves. In america, we believe that someone who works hard and does a good job deserves to be rewarded.
The second child represents need. Just outcomes take into account each person’s need. In our hypothetical example, this child clearly needed money more than the other two.
The third child represents rights. From a contractual perspective, a right is an outcome to which we are entitled, based on a prior agreement or contract. apart from whether she deserves or needs the money, the third child reminds me that under our contractual agreement she has the right to receive a dollar. We will consider rights in greater detail in the next section.
My task, as the all-powerful policy maker in pursuit of justice, is to balance the deserts, needs, and rights of these three children to achieve a just distribution of the reward. This task is illustrated in Figure 1.1. Similarly, analysis of the impact of policy on social justice should consider each of these components, particularly as they relate to vulnerable populations. For example, analysis of a proposal to provide public clinics for people who do not have health insurance might consider first whether these people deserve health care; second, whether they need such care; and finally, whether their rights as citizens are violated if the care is not provided. Equality is the fourth component of justice, and a policy’s impact on inequality merits careful consideration. Now let us turn to more detailed consideration of two components of social justice: human rights and equality.
FIGURE 1.1 Balancing the Components of Social Justice
HUMAN RIGHTS
Most americans can recite from the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” When Thomas Jefferson penned these words, he was part of a tradition that began in ancient civilizations and was reflected in documents written as early as two thousand years before the birth of Jesus, including the Code of Hammurabi (Mesopotamia), the Cyrus cylinder (Persia), and the edicts of ashoka (ancient India) (robertson & Merrills, 1996). Each of these documents treats human rights as universal and inalienable. Thus, rights are possessed by all people, and they cannot be (as my grandmother would say) “begged, borrowed, or sold.”
The horrors of the Holocaust inspired members of the United Nations (U.N.) General assembly to adopt the Universal Declaration of Human rights in 1948. although the declaration is not legally binding, it sets forth principles toward which many nations strive. President Franklin D. Roosevelt characterized it as an “international Magna Carta of all men everywhere” (in his address to the United Nations, December 9, 1948, Paris), but other U.S. politicians have been less enthusiastic. For instance, Jeane Kirkpatrick, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the reagan administration, reportedly described the declaration as “a letter to Santa Claus” (WordIQ.com, n.d.).
Nonetheless, the declaration was promptly ratified by the United States Senate in a process consistent with constitutional provisions governing international treaties. although the president of the United States has authority to sign U.N. declarations, conventions, and treaties, ratification requires Senate approval. a s a result, there can be a lengthy gap between the president’s signature and Senate ratification.
Notably, the United States and Somalia are the only nations that have not ratified the Convention on the r ights of the Child, and we join Sudan, Somalia, and Iran in refusing to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women. President Obama signed the Convention on the rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2009, but the Senate has so far been unable to achieve the two-thirds majority needed to ratify the treaty. The status of the United States with respect to other U.N. conventions affecting human rights (as of this writing) is summarized in Table 1.1.
Civil and political rights enjoyed by americans are spelled out in the first ten amendments to the Constitution—the Bill of rights—and in legislation ranging from the Civil rights act of 1960 to the americans with Disabilities act of 1990. While there is a strong tradition of protection for civil rights in the United States, this nation does not recognize economic, social, and cultural rights, or solidarity rights, some of which are identified in the Universal Declaration of Human rights (Vasak & alston, 1982).
Human Rights Violations and Restorative Justice
The world has seen a litany of human rights violations by governments. Here we will briefly consider South africa’s system of apartheid and the ongoing efforts at healing that followed.
The land we now know as South africa has long been home to diverse ethnic groups. Its colonial history began in the 1400s with the arrival of Portuguese explorers, but most people date the period to the arrival of Dutch and British forces in the 17th century. These European powers fought over territory during the Boer Wars of the end of the 19th century before settling into an uneasy power-sharing arrangement. The Union of South africa was formed in 1910, and the afrikaner National Party rose to ascendency in the 1940s. a partheid laws date to 1948, when the Population r egistration a ct required that all
TABLE 1.1 United Nations Conventions on Human Rights*
Effective
Title
(requires 20 signatures)
Universal Declaration of Human rights 1948
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide 1951
International Covenant on Civil and Political rights 1976
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of racial Discrimination 1969
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women 1981
Convention against Torture 1987
Convention against apartheid in Sports 1988
Signed by President Truman, ratified by the Senate
Signed by President reagan in 1988, ratified by the Senate with the proviso that america was immune from prosecution without its consent
Signed by President Carter in 1977, ratified by the Senate in 1992 with reservations
Signed by President Johnson in 1966, ratified by the Senate in 1994
Signed by President Carter, not ratified by the Senate
Signed by President G.H.W. Bush in 1988, ratified by the Senate in 1994 with stipulations
United States voted against the Convention Convention on the rights of the Child 1990
Signed by Madeleine albright (under President Clinton) in 1995, not ratified by the Senate (like Somalia and South Sudan)
Convention on the Protection of the rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families 2003
Convention on the rights of Persons with Disabilities 2008
United States (along with other migrant-receiving states) has not signed
Signed by President Obama in 2009, not ratified by the Senate
*Please see the United Nations Treaty Collection for updated information on conventions and treaties (http://treaties.un.org/Home.aspx?lang=en).
South africans be classified as white, black, or colored. The majority black population was confined to reserves known as “homelands” and required to carry “pass books” to enter non-black areas. Their voting rights were limited to homelands, which meant the South african parliament was elected by the minority non-black population.
Protests in the 1960s signaled the beginning of the Anti-Apartheid Movement. The government responded with violent repression, and the killing of 69 unarmed protesters in Sharpeville resulted in international calls for the economic isolation of South africa. The following year (1961), South a frica was ejected from the Commonwealth, and in 1962 the United Nations General assembly passed a non-binding resolution that established a Special Committee against apartheid and called on member states to participate in a trade embargo against the nation. In 1970, South africa was expelled from the Olympics. Finally, in 1990 President F. W. de Klerk entered into negotiations to end apartheid, and in 1994 the African National Congress won in the nation’s first multiracial election. Nelson Mandela became president of South africa.
The post-apartheid government established the world’s first Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TrC). The TrC applied the principles of restorative justice to enable both victims and offenders to participate in the new democracy. While there is no universal agreement on the impact of this process, it is widely seen as a success. Truth and reconciliation Commissions have been established in more than 19 countries in response to human rights violations (Chapman & van der Merwe, 2008).
Unlike the adversarial retributive justice system to which we are accustomed, restorative justice processes focus on repairing harm through a process of dialogue that involves both offenders and victims. In this context, crimes are seen as wrongs done to individuals and communities rather than to the nation-state (Van Ness, 1996). The focus of proceedings is on repairing harm that has been done and restoring social bonds. restorative justice principles have also been applied in criminal justice contexts (see Chapter 9) as well as child protective services (see Chapter 12) (Morris & Maxwell, 1998; Vos et al., 2003).
The South a frican experience is instructive on many levels: first, human rights violations were rooted in a colonial system of economic exploitation and flourished in conditions of extreme inequality; second, proponents of apartheid used arbitrary racial categories to shore up the power of a minority; and third, apartheid was successfully dismantled only after decades of organized efforts within South africa that were supported by an international solidarity movement.
Human Trafficking
Where apartheid involved government-sponsored exploitation of an entire race, human trafficking involves the market-based exploitation of vulnerable individuals. The U.N. Trafficking Protocol that went into effect in 2003 (and which the United States signed in 2005) provides the only widely agreed-upon definition of trafficking in persons:
a. … the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power, or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs;
Albert John Luthuli (1898–1967), president of the African National Congress (1952–1967) and winner of the 1960 Nobel Peace Prize
b. The consent of a victim of trafficking in persons to the intended exploitation set forth in subparagraph (a) of this article shall be irrelevant where any of the means set forth in subparagraph (s) have been used;
c. The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation shall be considered “trafficking in persons” even if this does not involve any of the means set forth in subparagraph (a) of this article (United Nations, 2000).
reliable estimates of the number of people who have been trafficked are impossible to obtain, and the profits from this business are incalculable. Policies designed to address trafficking take three approaches: prosecution of traffickers, prevention of trafficking, and protection of trafficking victims. an “anti-trafficking policy index” has been used to rank national efforts in this area, and in 2013 the United States was not among nations with the strongest anti-trafficking policies due to its failure to provide amnesty to trafficking victims (Cho, 2014).
Of course, there is no simple remedy for human trafficking. Corruption complicates the task of prosecution. raids on brothels risk re-victimizing victims, even as protective measures struggle to establish who is and who is not a bona fide trafficking victim. at the same time, the conditions that support trafficking are direct concerns for macro social work practice: extreme poverty, social norms and values that marginalize women and people of color, and a market that allows some to profit from the slave labor and prostitution of others. So scholars like Martha Nussbaum argue for measures to increase the capabilities of victims and potential victims: education for women and children, microcredit and employment options for the poor, labor unions for low-wage workers, and social networks that reduce isolation (Cavalieri, 2011). Measures that promote equality also help to restore human rights.
EQUALITY
We can identify three types of equality: social, political, and economic. Social equality exists to the extent that community esteem for individuals is not based on a hierarchy. This is seldom the case because informal hierarchies govern most of our social interactions; however, the lack of social equality is seldom a matter for policy intervention. Social policies more often target political and economic inequality. as we have seen, political equality is a fundamental value in democracy, personified by the notion of “one person, one vote.” To the extent that a political system deviates from this value it is considered unjust. Finally, economic equality—the equitable distribution of income and wealth—is an important component of social justice. Few americans believe that income and wealth should be equally distributed, but most endorse the concept of equal opportunity, and the american Dream of continually rising affluence remains an important part of the nation’s psyche (aCLU, 2010). Yet, for decades, economic inequality has risen in the United States and in other developed nations. Its causes and destructive impacts are discussed in Chapter 5. as we will see, policies that govern our safety net, social security, and tax systems play an important role in determining the level of economic inequality in U.S. society.
Most philosophical conceptions of justice stem from or elaborate upon a ristotle’s views. aristotle saw distributive justice as the equal distribution of shares among people who are equal, and unequal distribution among people who are unequal. His concept of proportional rewards offers a rationale for unequal distribution of benefits. For aristotle, justice, merit, and proportion are closely aligned. a just distribution of rewards is based on “merit” and is proportional. So an individual’s rightful share is proportionate to the person’s merit (Bostock, 2000, pp. 112–133). aristotle acknowledges that people may define merit differently: “democrats identify it with the status of freeman, supporters of oligarchy with wealth (or with noble birth), and supporters of aristocracy with excellence” (p. 113).
Contemporary definitions of merit may hinge on skill in performing tasks, dedication or sacrifice, or personal characteristics. In our daily lives, most of us operate across settings that define merit in different ways.
Equality might be achieved by balancing disparate claims. In the Ethics, a ristotle argues that in the exchange of goods justice is the intermediate point between two unjust extremes. So a just price for a good lies between two prices that would be unjust (too low a price is unjust to the producer, and too high is unjust to the consumer): “[T]he virtuous man tends to take less than his share” (p. 130). In Politics, aristotle suggests that a just state rewards individuals according to their contributions to the goals of the state, and the goals of a just state include a good quality of life.
as we have seen, equality is complex. The principle is easy to articulate, but the devil is in the details. Policy makers, family members, and philosophers struggle to determine the extent to which inequality should be tolerated (or encouraged). We will revisit this controversial topic during our discussion of economic fundamentals.
Discuss the Philosophical Underpinnings of Capitalism and Its Alternatives
Capitalism refers to an economic system (sometimes called the “free enterprise system”) based on trade among private individuals and corporations, in which the means of production are privately owned. although the United States is commonly viewed as a “capitalist” nation, in reality it is a “mixed” economy with regulated markets and government ownership of some major industries (e.g., public utilities). Indeed, “laissez-faire capitalism ,” in which markets operate with no government intervention, has probably never existed (Buder, 2009).
adam Smith was an early defender of capitalism, and his seminal work, An Inquiry in the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (sometimes shortened to The Wealth of Nations ) offers a persuasive argument that society as a whole benefits when individuals pursue their selfish interests in the marketplace. He coined the term “invisible hand” to describe how the forces of supply and demand direct human behavior.
Capitalist theory, as articulated by Smith and by 20th-century proponents of rational choice theory, introduces “economic man” or “Homo economicus,” a being who seeks to possess as much wealth as he or she can accumulate with a minimum of labor or sacrifice. a ccording to this view, humans rationally seek to maximize their own happiness or, as economists would say, “optimize their utility.”
Unlike some modern economists, Adam Smith did not believe that all or even most of human nature was encapsulated in Homo economicus. In his less-renowned work, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, he observed that “However selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortune of others, and render their happiness necessary to him, though he derives nothing from it, except the pleasure of seeing it.” Likewise, economic anthropologists like Karl Polanyi emphasized behaviors that reflect more communal motivations, such as redistribution of resources and reciprocal giftgiving in traditional societies (e.g., the Native american potlatch) (Dalton, 1968).
Several philosophical perspectives contribute to our understanding of capitalism and of the relationship between government and the marketplace. Here, we will consider three: libertarianism , liberalism , and socialism 3 a summary of these perspectives is presented in Table 1.2.
3Summaries of the philosophical approaches are provided in Sterba (1980).
TABLE 1.2 Summary of Philosophical Approaches to Social Justice
Philosophical Perspective
Libertarian philosophy “From each according to his choice; to each according to his product.”
Liberal philosophy “Economic liberty and political equality for all.”
Socialist philosophy “From each according to his ability; to each according to his need.”
Melissa chose to marry Will. Will chose his job. Tax funds that are taken coercively from others should not be used to intervene in their lives.
Intervention to bring Melissa above a social minimum is in order. relief of her suffering will enhance community well-being.
Melissa’s abuse is the natural result of capitalism and its oppression of laborers. Intervention should educate her about the societal roots of her suffering.
LIBERTARIAN PHILOSOPHY
With an abiding commitment to personal freedom, libertarian philosophy emphasizes the benefits of the free market over an economic system regulated by the government, arguing that a free-market society enjoys greater productivity among its workers and greater incentive to accumulate capital and pass it on to the next generation. a byproduct of this capital accumulation is lower interest rates. Furthermore, the free market encourages innovation and risk taking by offering high rewards for success in uncertain ventures such as speculative investment. Finally, proponents of this view argue that the free market is preferable to government coercion in the allocation of resources because it does not interfere with individual liberty. ayn rand, a strong proponent of libertarian philosophy, extolled individual liberty in The Fountainhead, published in 1943
Libertarians argue that inequality is acceptable and promotes social well-being. Oliver Wendell Holmes exemplified this view when he said, “I have no respect for the passion for equality, which seems to me merely idealizing envy” (Hayek, 1960, cited in Sterba, 1980, p. 126). Friedrich Hayek argued that the only form of equality that did not interfere with liberty was equality before the law. With respect to the role of government, a libertarian view would hold that there is no justification for the state to treat people differently. “Before the law … people should be treated alike in spite of the fact that they are different” (p. 127).
Without specific policies to redistribute wealth, equal treatment under the law inevitably supports the unequal distribution of resources. Libertarians oppose policies such as progressive taxation or affirmative action that are designed to reduce inequality. For them, the pursuit of equality is not an appropriate policy goal; inequality is a small price to pay for freedom. Thus, libertarians typically view taxes as the coercive taking of private property. For example, Hayek argues that “economic inequality is not one of the evils which justify our resorting to discriminatory coercion or privilege as a remedy” (p. 128).
Robert Nozick’s 1974 work, Anarchy, State, and Utopia, exemplifies the libertarian perspective. Nozick argues that inequality is not necessarily an indication of injustice if it results from a process that treats people fairly and equally. The fact that a free market results in disparate incomes is not cause for government intervention. Nozick disputes the notion of shared responsibility for vulnerable populations, offering a parable of 10 robinson Crusoes on 10 separate islands. If these men have different levels of well-being, the differences result
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It must not be assumed, however, that Cheriton indulged in both these luxuries. His respect for the internal economy forbade that course. But observing that George Betterton selected Green Chartreuse he contrived to smuggle unseen the Grand Marnier to George’s side of the table. He then addressed his mind to slumber. After a full twenty minutes thus blissfully stolen he awoke with a little start.
“Beg pardon, George,” said he. “Did I understand you to say the Militia had gone to the dooce and the country must be reconstructed, or that the Country had gone to the dooce and the Militia must be reconstructed?”
“The Country, Cheriton,” said Caroline Crewkerne, in her most affairé manner; “certainly the Country.”
“What a good head you have, Caroline!” said Cheriton, giving expression to a somnolent admiration. “Take after your father. Sorry to interrupt you, George. Most able discourse. By the way, Caroline, you never give one the treat of the famous old brandy these days. Not for myself. I never touch brandy; but I was thinking of George. It is known to be excellent for any kind of disquisition.”
George Betterton, duly fortified with a little of the famous old brandy, and with a yet further supply of Grand Marnier, which Cheriton caused to be conveyed to him, proceeded on his victorious way.
“Country gone to the dogs—yes,” said Cheriton. “Militia gone to the dooce—quite so. Circus to-morrow, Miss Goose. But Gobo quite educational too.”
Cheriton addressed himself again to slumber, with a peaceful, resigned, yet vastly contented air.
It was five minutes past three before Caroline Crewkerne quitted the table. In spite of her fund of natural shrewdness she could not help feeling—so easy it is for the wisest people to deceive themselves in some things—that she had sat at the feet of a political Gamaliel who played ducks and drakes with the War Office. As for George Betterton, having been endured with a patience that was not always extended to him, without actually giving himself airs, he felt that upon
the subject of the Militia he really was no end of a fellow Cheriton, who had enjoyed an additional thirty-five minutes of undisturbed repose, gave him clearly to understand that he concurred in that opinion.
Back in the drawing-room, Caroline Crewkerne reaffirmed her intention of destroying the half-finished portrait of Miss Perry.
“An unpardonable piece of presumption in the first place,” said she. “And, in the second, the man was positively insolent.”
Cheriton had already looked for the canvas, and with a whimsical little sigh of satisfaction had looked in vain. It would seem that the myrmidons of the Bond Street Galleries had done their work.
“Do be more lenient, my dear Caroline,” said Cheriton, persuasively.
“The fellow is young, and his lot is hard. Pray don’t take the bread out of the mouth of a rising genius who has to support his mother George, my dear fellow, throw the weight of your great influence into the scale. Caroline must be more humane. Rising young man— highly susceptible—wholly captivated by our distracting Miss Goose. Any young fellow with any sort of instinct for nature at her choicest would have done the same.”
Cheriton concluded upon an exclamation from the redoubtable Caroline.
“Why,” she cried, “the picture has been taken away!”
Mr. Marchbanks was summoned.
“Two men from Peabody’s fetched it an hour ago, my lady,” Mr. Marchbanks explained.
“Without my permission,” stormed his mistress.
“I had no instructions, my lady,” said Mr. Marchbanks. “I was under the impression that it was the property of the young painting gentleman.”
“You were under the impression!”
“Caroline,” said Cheriton gravely, “if you have not been properly scored off it looks uncommonly like it. Young fellow evidently didn’t
allow the grass to grow under his feet. He said he would send for it to-morrow, but he seems to have changed his mind. But, in my humble judgment, if you must blame anybody you will do well to blame George. If he hadn’t been so devilish interesting on the subject of the Militia it would never have happened.”
CHAPTER XVI
HYDE PARK
LITTLE recked Jim Lascelles of the train of circumstances which enabled his precious half-finished work to return to its maker. When it arrived at his hermitage at Balham that afternoon, he merely saw in its premature return an additional affront. He took it for granted that the old woman of Hill Street had ordered it out of the house.
“An absolutely inconceivable old cat,” Jim assured his mother with great truculence.
“I am afraid so, my son,” said his mother, sagely. “Power is so bad for poor Female Us.”
“She has ruined me,” said Jim, miserably. “She and that infernal temper of mine.”
“Temper is feminine too, my son,” said Jim’s mother, profoundly. “She invariably plays Old Harry when she gets hold of the reins.”
Perhaps it ought to be stated that Jim’s mother had recently tried to eke out her slender purse by writing a novel. At least, that is the only explanation there is to offer of how she came to be so wise. The writing of novels is very good for the mind, as all the world knows.
Jim was woefully gloomy for many days. He felt that by his unlucky outburst he had irretrievably ruined his prospects. And they were getting bright so suddenly that they had almost seemed to dazzle him. Not only had he forfeited the hundred pounds which Lord Cheriton had promised him for a faithful copy of the Gainsborough, but doubtless, after his unhappy exhibition of temper, Lord Kendal’s daughter Priscilla would choose to be painted by somebody else.
This, however, was not the worst. The Goose Girl had passed clean out of his ken. Henceforward he would be debarred the sight of the Gainsborough hat, the lilac frock, and the full-fledged cream-bun
appearance. She had driven the unfortunate young fellow so nearly to distraction that while he found it impossible to expel her from his thoughts, he could not summon the resolution to unlock the door of the studio he had caused to be set up in the small Balham back garden. It was nothing less than an affliction to gaze upon the halffinished canvas, which now could never be completed.
By nature Jim Lascelles was a bright and cheery soul. But the fact that he had destroyed his prospects “just as things were coming his way” by a single unbridled act, made him extremely unhappy. It needed all Mrs. Lascelles’ gay courage and invincible optimism to keep Jim steady during these days of trial.
“Finish her out of your head, laddie,” said she, “then try to forget that she ever existed.”
“Nay,” said Jim. “I must either put all I know into that little work, or stick a knife through the canvas.”
Jim brooded dreadfully upon the subject. Black rings came under his eyes; he smoked too much and ate too little.
“I must and I will see her,” said Jim.
“That is the true spirit, my son,” said his mother, cheerfully.
It is not quite clear whether she ought openly to have expressed her approval. It was very necessary, all the same, to rouse the unhappy Jim from the lethargy that was making his life unbearable. At all events, he seemed to derive a certain inward power from the mere resolution.
The next morning Jim made his way to Hyde Park. It was now June and it was looking its best, with the trees, the rhododendrons, and the ladies in full bloom. For some time he stood by the railings with a kind of indefinite hope that he would be rewarded for his pilgrimage. Then he began to walk slowly in the direction of Knightsbridge; and confronted by so much fine plumage, he began to wish ruefully that his blue suit was not so shabby and that his straw hat was not in its second season.
He was still hopeful, however He took a careful survey of the riders. Somewhat oddly, his attention was attracted to a heavy, red-faced, rather stupid-looking man who was pounding along on a gray horse. His appearance was perfectly familiar to Jim Lascelles, yet for the moment he could not remember where and when he had seen him. It was with an odd mingling of satisfaction and disgust that he was able to recall the heavy red-faced man’s identity. He stopped and turned his eyes to follow him in his progress. Yes, it was he undoubtedly. And there at the corner by Apsley House was a chestnut horse, tall, upstanding, proudly magnificent, surmounted by a royal creature crowned with the light of the morning. At the respectful distance of thirty paces was Mr. Bryant, seated as upright as his own cockade upon a more modest charger. Even he, a man of austere taste and exclusive instinct, did not attempt to conceal an air of legitimate pride in his company. Mr. Bryant had seen nothing that morning, nor many mornings previously, that could in anywise compare with the wonderful Miss Perry.
Doubtless it is hardly right to say that Jim Lascelles’ eyes were envious when they followed the man with the red face, and marked his paternal greeting of the Goose Girl. It is hardly fair, for envy is a vulgar passion, and Jim was too good a fellow ever to be really vulgar in anything. All the same, it must be confessed that he swore to himself softly. He then behaved in a very practical and mundane manner. He took out his watch, one of those admirable American five-shilling watches which are guaranteed to keep correct time for a very long period.
“Three minutes past eleven,” said he. “Oho, my merry man!”
Precisely what Jim Lascelles meant by that mystic exclamation it is difficult to know, but anyhow it seemed to please him. He then observed that the little cavalcade had wheeled round the corner, and had started to come down slowly by the railings upon the left.
Jim stood to await it with a beating heart. It was a most injudicious thing to do, but he was in a desperate and defiant humor.
“Five to one she cuts you,” Jim muttered. “Two to one she cuts you dead. They are all alike when they mount the high horse.”
As Jim Lascelles stood to await the approach of the cavalcade, he no longer thought ruefully of his cheap straw hat and his shabby blue suit. They had become dear to him as the badge of his impending martyrdom.
Gobo hugged the railings. He was so close to Jim Lascelles that he nearly touched him with his spurs—dummy spurs, as Jim noted. Miss Perry was explaining that all the girls had white frocks at Buckingham Palace, and how she wished that Muffin had been there, as a white frock always suited her, although she was inclined to tear it, when Miss Featherbrain was met by the steady and unflinching gaze of Jim Lascelles. Instantly her hand went up, not one of darned cotton, but a yellow gauntleted affair that matched her hair, in quite the regulation Widdiford manner.
“Why—why,” she cried, “it’s Jim! Hallo, Jim!”
In the ears of Jim Lascelles the incomparably foolish speech had never sounded so absurd and so delicious. It was plainly the intention of Miss Perry to hold animated conversation with the undeniably handsome youth who returned her greeting. But the intervention of the highest branch of the peerage, as solemn as the British Constitution and as solid too, between her and the railings; and the fact that there was a resolutely oncoming rearguard in the person of the scandalized Mr. Bryant, who in his own mind was tolerably sure that the presumptuous young man by the railings had no connection with the peerage whatever, sufficed to keep Miss Perry in the straight path.
Therefore Jim Lascelles had to be content with one of the old Widdiford smiles, which nevertheless was enchanting, and a parting wave of the yellow gauntlet, which was the perfection of friendliness, comradeship, and natural simplicity. He stood to watch the cavalcade pass slowly down the ride, the magnificent chestnut and its rider the observed of all observers, for both were superb and profoundly simple works of nature. The red-faced and stolid personage on the gray, a more sophisticated pair, were yet well in
the picture also, for if less resplendent, they too in their way were imposing.
Jim’s reverie was interrupted by a voice at his elbow
“There they go,” it said, “the most ill-assorted pair in England.”
With a start of surprise Jim turned to find an immaculate beside him. Cheriton was wearing a light-gray frock-coat with an exaggerated air of fashion.
“Crabbed age and youth,” said Jim, yet quite without bitterness. He was still glowing with pleasure at his frank and friendly recognition.
“A pitiful sight,” said Cheriton. “A man of his age! How odd it is that some men are born without a sense of the incongruous!”
“Yes,” said Jim.
“Gal looks well outside a horse. Very well indeed. Pity that old ruffian should ruin so fair a picture.”
Cheriton seemed prepared to criticise his rival’s style of horsemanship. Reluctantly, however, he forbore to do so. For George had been drilled very severely in his youth; and in spite of his years and his weight he was able to make a creditable appearance in the saddle.
“Do you know, Lord Cheriton,” said Jim, “I almost regret that I did not attempt an equestrian portrait.”
My lord’s brows went up.
“Upon my word, Lascelles,” said he, “you are an uncommonly bold fellow to mention the word ‘portrait.’”
“I agree with you,” said Jim.
He laughed rather bitterly. Cheriton affected a gravely paternal air.
“Lascelles,” said he, “I think the fact that at school your father imbued me with the elements of wisdom gives some sort of sanction to a little plain speaking on my part.”
“Go on, Lord Cheriton,” said Jim, with gloomy resignation. “Rub it in.”
“I think, Lascelles,” said Cheriton, with a fine assumption of the air of a “head beak,” “your conduct merits censure in the highest degree.”
“It has received it,” said Jim “I have been kicking myself for being such a hot-headed fool ever since it happened.”
“One is almost afraid,” said Cheriton, ruefully, “that your indiscretion is irreparable. Really, Lascelles, making due allowance for the fact that your father was one of the most rash and hasty men I ever encountered, and allowing further for the fact that my old friend has a deplorable absence of, shall we say, amenity, your behavior amounted neither more nor less than to suicide.”
“I don’t regret what I did,” said Jim, “as far as that old Gorgon of a woman is concerned. I am afraid I should behave in just the same way again if I were placed in a similar position. But I know it was very unwise. As for the portrait, I intend, by hook or by crook, to finish it.”
“Well, Lascelles,” said Cheriton, giving the young fellow a kindly touch on the arm in parting, “do what you can; and when the work is complete you must let me see it.”
It was a new Jim Lascelles who returned to Balham by the twelvethirty from Victoria and took luncheon with his mother. He called at the greengrocer’s just as you get out of the station, and arrived at the Acacias with a number of paper bags tucked under each arm. He hummed the favorite air in the very latest musical comedy, while he proceeded to make a salad whose mysteries he had acquired in Paris. He had been initiated into them by Monsieur Bonnat, the famous chef of the Hotel Brinvilliers. And it so happened that Jim’s mother, who spoiled him completely, had purchased a lobster, which she really couldn’t afford, such was the current price of that delicacy and the present state of her finances, to cheer Jim up a bit.
“My dear,” said Jim, “let us have the last bottle of the Johannisberg.”
Miranda, the demure little maid-of-all-work, was ordered rather magnificently to procure the same.
“Pity ’tis, ’tis the last,” said Jim, who proceeded to toast his mother. “May those precious publishers,” said he, “learn truly to appreciate a very remarkable literary genius, my dear.”
“I am afraid they do, dear boy,” said she. “That is the trouble.”
“It is a rattling good story, anyhow,” said Jim, stoutly.
“It certainly ends as every self-respecting and well-conducted story ought. But this old addle-pate hasn’t a spark of literary genius in it.”
“Oh, hasn’t it!” said Jim, bringing his fist upon the table. “George Sand is a fool to you, my dear.”
“Dear fellow,” said Jim’s mother, with a smile of pleasure. “At any rate I am enough of a genius to like appreciation. But with you, laddie, it is different. You are the real right thing, as dear Henry James would say.”
“Oh, am I?” said Jim. “Well, here’s to the Real Right Thing, whichever of us has it. I know which side of the table it is, if you don’t.”
“The Realest Rightest Thing is outside in the garden waiting for the hand of the master to complete her.”
“Ye gods, the hand of the master! You pile it on ‘a leetle beet tick,’ as Monsieur Gillet would say to you. But shall I tell you a secret? I saw the Goose Girl this morning.”
“Of course you did, dear boy.”
“How did you guess?”
“The step on the gravel told me.”
“You are wonderful, you know. Fancy your finding it out like that when I tried hard to tread heavily!”
“That vain, wicked, foolish, and depraved Goose!” said Jim’s mother.
“You met her in Hyde Park this morning walking with her duke, and she gave you a smile, and if she was more than usually foolish, she said, ‘Why, it’s Jim!’”
“She was à cheval. But you are wonderful, you know,” said Jim.
“Riding was she? And pray how did the great overgrown creature look outside a horse?”
“I could never have believed it. She was mounted on a glorious chestnut, a great mountain of a beast, a noble stepper; and in her smart new habit, and in an extraordinarily coquettish bowler—think on it, my dear, the Goose Girl in a bowler!—she was a picture for the gods.”
“One can readily believe that the creature would set high Olympus in a roar.”
“She was to the manner born. She might have learned the art of equitation in la haute école instead of in the home paddock at Widdiford on that screw of the dear old governor’s.”
“Oh no, dear boy,” said Jim’s mother, with decision. “Poor dear Melancthon was anything but a screw. He was by Martin Luther out of Moll Cutpurse. He won the point-to-point on three occasions.”
“I humbly beg Melancthon’s pardon. That explains why the Goose Girl comes to be so proficient. She certainly looked this morning as if she had never sat anything less than the blood of Carbine.”
“I think the secret of the whole matter, my son,” said Jim’s mother, profoundly, “is that the Female Us is so marvelously adaptable. If she is really smartly turned out on a fine morning in June with a real live duke on the off side of her and all London gazing at her, if she had never learned to sit anything else than a donkey she would still contrive to look as though she had won the whole gymkhana. It is just that quality that makes the Female Us so wonderful. It is just that that maketh Puss so soon get too big for her dancing slippers.”
“Well, you wise woman,” said Jim, “the Goose Girl would have taken all the prizes this morning. And she didn’t even cut me.”
“Cut you, my son!” exclaimed Jim’s mother. “Gott in himmel! that Goose cut you indeed!”
“There are not many Goose Girls that wouldn’t have done in the circumstances. But she is True Blue. And I am going to finish her portrait. And I am going to make her permanently famous.”
Jim’s mother tilted the last of the Johannisberg into his glass.
“Go in and win, dear boy,” said she. “You have genius. Lavish it upon her. Earn fame and fortune, and buy back the Red House at Widdiford.”
“And in the meantime,” said Jim, “she will have married that old fossil and borne him three children.”
“She will not, dear boy,” said the voice of the temptress, “if you make her promise not to.”
“Oh, that wouldn’t be cricket,” said Jim, “with her people so miserably poor and James Lascelles by no means affluent; and the old fossil with a house in Piccadilly, and another in Notts, and another in Fifeshire, and a yacht in the Solent, and a box at the Opera, and a mausoleum at Kensal Green. No, old lady, I’m afraid it wouldn’t be cricket.”
Jim’s mother exposed herself to the censure of all self-respecting people.
“It would be far less like cricket,” said she, “for that perfect dear of a Goose to have her youth, her beauty, and her gayety purchased by a worldly old ruffian who ought to be a grandfather. Come, sir, she awaits her very parfit gentil knight.”
But Jim shook his head solemnly.
“No, old lady,” said he, “I am afraid it wouldn’t be playing the game.”
Nevertheless, immediately luncheon was over, Jim took the key of his studio off the sitting-room chimney-piece, and went forth to the misshapen wooden erection in the small Balham back garden. The key turned in the lock stiffly. It was nearly three weeks since it had last been in it. For several hours he worked joyfully, touching and retouching the picture and improvising small details out of his head. And all the time the Goose Girl smiled upon him in the old Widdiford manner. Her hair had never looked so yellow, and her eyes had never looked so blue.
CHAPTER XVII
DEVELOPMENT OF THE FEMALE US
THE next morning, a little before eleven, the wonderful Miss Perry, accompanied by the admirable Mr. Bryant, was approaching Apsley House when the figure of a solitary horseman was to be seen. It had a combination of unexpectedness and familiarity which fixed Miss Perry’s attention. She gave a little exclamation. The horseman was unmistakably Jim Lascelles.
Jim received a most affectionate greeting.
“You are just in time,” said he. “It is a near thing. Gobo is yonder in the offing. I was afraid he would get here before you.”
Miss Perry was delighted but perplexed by a suggestion that Jim put forward. It was that they should go down the left while Gobo rode up on the right.
“But I promised Gobo,” she said.
“Look here, Goose Girl,” said Jim, with tremendous resolution, “do you suppose I have invested the last half-sovereign I have in the world on the worst hack in London, to be cut out by that old duffer? Come on round, you Goose, before he gets up.”
Really Miss Perry is not to be blamed. Jim Lascelles was resolution incarnate once he had made up his mind. Jim’s horse, a nondescript who does not merit serious notice, walked a few paces briskly, the chestnut followed its example, as chestnuts will, and the next thing was Jim’s horse broke into a canter. The chestnut did the same. Of course it was Miss Perry’s business to see that the chestnut did nothing of the sort. But it has to be recorded that she failed in her obvious duty. And then, so swift is the road to destruction, in less time than it takes to inform the incredulous reader, the chestnut and the nondescript began literally to fly down Rotten Row.
It was a golden morning of glorious June, and, of course, things constantly happen at that vernal season. But as the four pairs of irresponsible hoofs came thundering by, flinging up the tan in all directions and nearly knocking over a policeman, equestrians of both sexes, and pedestrians too, stared in polite amazement and very decided disapproval. If not absolutely contrary to the park regulations, it was certainly very wrong behavior.
There is every reason to suspect that the opinion of that high authority, Mr. Bryant, was even more uncompromising. Not for an instant did he attempt to cope with the pace that had been set. He was content sadly to watch his charge get farther and farther away. He then turned to look back at the man with the red face, who had just arrived at the turn.
That elevated personage, who could not see at all well without his spectacles, halted at the turn and looked in vain for the wonderful Miss Perry. His friend Cheriton, who had entered the gates just in time to be au courant with all that had happened, accosted him cheerfully.
“Doctors’ orders, George?”
“Ye-es,” said George, rather gruffly.
“I warned you years ago, my dear fellow,” said his friend, sympathetically, “that any man who drinks port wine in the middle of the day as a regular thing, can count later in life on the crown of the martyr.”
George looked rather cross. He peered to the right and he peered to the left. The ever-receding pair were by now undecipherable to stronger eyes than those of George Betterton.
“Seen a gal about?” he inquired rather irritably. There never was a duke since the creation of the order who could endure to be kept waiting.
“I’ve seen several,” said his friend, with an air of preternatural innocence.
“I mean that gal of Caroline Crewkerne’s,” said George.
“I was not aware that she had one.”
“Tall, bouncing gal,” said George. “Ginger hair.”
“Ginger hair!” said his friend. “Tall, bouncing gal! Do you mean my ward, Miss Perry?”
“Your ward! What d’ye mean, Cheriton?”
“Caroline Crewkerne seems to think,” said Cheriton, coolly, “that I shall serve the best interests of a lonely and unprotected and extraordinarily prepossessing girlhood if I act, as it were, in loco parentis during Miss Perry’s sojourn in the vast metropolis.”
George began to gobble furiously. It was a sign, however, that his mind was working. That heavy and rusty mechanism was very difficult to set in motion.
“If it comes to that,” said he, “I should say I am quite as capable of looking after the gal as you are.”
“A matter of opinion, George, I assure you,” said Cheriton, with genial candor.
“What d’ye mean?”
“For one thing, I am rather older than you. Therefore, in Caroline’s opinion, I am better fitted to occupy the paternal office.”
“Are you, though?” said George, stubbornly.
“I am sixty-five, you know,” said his friend, with an air of modest pride. “The ideal age, if I may say so, for wisdom, experience, and knowledge of the world to coalesce in the service of innocence, beauty, and extreme youth At least, I know that is Caroline Crewkerne’s opinion.”
“Goin’ to marry the gal, are you?” said George, bluntly
Some men are very blunt by nature.
“The exigencies of the situation may render that course expedient,” said Cheriton, rather forensically. “But in any case, my dear George, speaking with the frankness to which I feel that my advantage in
years entitles me, I am inclined to doubt the seemliness of the open pursuit by a man of nine-and-fifty of a wayside flower.”
“What d’ye mean, Cheriton?” said George, with a more furious gobble than any he had yet achieved.
“What I really mean, my dear fellow,” said his friend, “is that you can no longer indulge in the pleasures of the chase without your spectacles. Had you been furnished with those highly useful, if not specially ornamental adjuncts to the human countenance, you would have been able to observe that the wonderful Miss Perry—whose hair, by the way, is yellow—was spirited away exactly ninety seconds before you arrived on the scene.”
“Who took her?” said George, who by now had grown purple with suppressed energy.
“A young fellow took her,” said Cheriton. “A smart, dashing, well-setup young fellow took her, my dear George. He simply came up, tossed her the handkerchief, and away they set off hell for leather. By now they are at the Albert Memorial.”
No sooner was this information conveyed to him than George Betterton did a vain and foolish thing. Without bestowing another word upon Cheriton he set off in pursuit. It was supremely ridiculous that he should have behaved in any such fashion. But it is surprising how soon the most stalwart among us loses his poise; how soon the most careful performer topples off the tight-rope of perfect discretion and sanity. The spectacle of George pursuing the runaways with a haste that was almost as unseemly as their own was certainly romantic. And at the same time it provided infinitely pleasant food for the detached observer who was responsible for George’s behavior.
Cheriton stood to watch and to laugh sardonically. The marionette had begun to answer to the strings in delightful fashion. He promised to excel all anticipation.
In the meantime Young Blood was careering away like the wind. Faster and faster it went. It was higher, deeper, richer, more exhilarating than any of the old Widdiford madnesses. It was in vain that the British public looked pained and the London police looked
important. This was its crowded hour of glorious life; and if there was to be an end to all things, there were two persons at least who felt that, after all, the cosmos had done very well to get itself invented. However, this sort of thing cannot last forever. The nondescript soon began to display signs of distress.
“Bellows to mend,” said Jim.
The glorious Miss Perry had difficulty in checking her chestnut.
“Why,” said she, “he is almost as strong as your papa’s pedigree hunter.”
“We’ve done a record from the Red House to the Parsonage, I think,” said Jim.
Even when they turned to ride back their high spirits met with no check. The crowded glorious hour continued, if pitched in a less emotional key. Jim’s nondescript was no longer equal to the fine careless rapture.
“Goose Girl,” said Jim, “do you know I have made a resolution?”
“Have you, Jim?” said Miss Perry.
“I am determined to finish that picture of you in your wonderful Gainsborough frock.”
“Of course, Jim,” said Miss Perry.
“That picture is to be a masterpiece, you know.”
“Is it, Jim?” said Miss Perry.
“Yes,” said Jim. “And when it has made me famous what do you suppose I am going to do?”
“I don’t know, Jim,” said Miss Perry.
“Can’t you guess?”
Miss Perry knitted her brows in grave perplexity.
“Marry Muffin.”
“What, marry the Ragamuffin!” said Jim, scornfully.
“She is prettier than Polly is.”
“But she is such a Ragamuffin; and she has never an incredible hat and a Gainsborough frock to call her own.”
“She has her mauve, Jim,” said Miss Perry.
“No,” said Jim, decisively; “in spite of her mauve I decline to marry the Ragamuffin.”
Miss Perry looked vastly disappointed.
“Milly is too young,” said she.
Jim pressed the nondescript The ice was getting desperately thin. And every moment the light of the morning was making it thinner.
“Goose Girl,” said Jim, “do you remember that once you promised to marry me?”
“Yes, I did, Jim,” said Miss Perry, “if you got those three big redcheeked apples off the tree at the Red House at Widdiford.”
“I got them off all right,” said Jim. “But instead of receiving your hand in matrimony I got a tremendous licking.”
“The apples were awfully nice, though,” said Miss Perry, like a true daughter of Eve.
The high personage who controls the limelight continued to play most embarrassing tricks with the light of the morning. The hapless Jim Lascelles felt himself to be no match for that master hand.
“Goose Girl,” said Jim, defiantly, “assuming for a moment that I made myself famous enough to buy back the Red House at Widdiford, with the strawberry beds and the apple orchards, and the old wicket-gate that leads into the back lane which takes you straight to the Parsonage—would you keep the promise that you made when you were a long-legged person of seven, with a very large appetite, and I was a chubby subject of thirteen and a half with rather thin trousers?”
“Yes, Jim, I would,” said Miss Perry, with remarkable promptitude, frankness, and sincerity.
“There, now I’ve done it,” groaned Jim. “It was bound to happen. I knew the royal daylight would provoke me to make a cad of myself before it had done playing its tricks. But if people will have yellow hair, and they will wear yellow gauntlets to match it, and that fellow upstairs will fling the limelight all over the place, how can a poor painting chap help himself?”
Miss Perry had grown very grave. She was silent for twenty-five seconds.
“Jim,” said she, with slow-drawn solemnity, “if you do marry anybody, I r-r-really think it ought to be Muffin.”
“That Ragamuffin!”
“She is such a sweet,” said Miss Perry. “And she is so pretty; and dearest papa says she is so clever; and of course you know I am rather a Silly.”
“All the world knows it.”
“And Muffin always said she would just love to live at the Red House at Widdiford.”
“Goose Girl,” said Jim, “I am afraid you are deep. You want to marry Gobo.”
“Not r-r-really,” said Miss Perry, with wide-eyed earnestness. “Of course he is a dear, but—but of course, Jim, he is not like you are.”
“Thank you very much for the information. But tell me, Goose Girl, wouldn’t you like to be a duchess?”
“Oh no, Jim,” said Miss Perry.
“Why not, you Goose?”
“It sounds rather silly.”
“So it does, now you come to mention it,” said Jim. “But think of all the wonderful frocks and jewels you would have, and the wonderful houses, and the wonderful horses, and the wonderful ices of every conceivable color and every possible flavor. And as for cream buns, a duchess of course can have as many as she requires.”
“I would rather have the Red House at Widdiford,” said Miss Perry
“Really,” said Jim, “you are the most tremendous thing in Geese. Just think what you could do if you were a duchess. You could buy old books and new vestments for your papa; Muffin could have a new mauve; the Polly Girl could marry her parson, and she could boast of her sister who married the duke; and the Milly Girl could think more about Persian kittens and less about self-improvement; and as for Dickie and Charley, they both might go to Sandhurst and probably become field-marshals.”
The blue eyes of Miss Perry opened in their dazzlement to dimensions that were perfectly astonishing.
“It would be awfully nice,” said she; “but, Jim——”
“Well?”
“I did promise you, didn’t I?”
“You would never have got those three red-cheeked apples if you hadn’t,” said Jim.
As they neared the turn at Hyde Park Corner they began unconsciously to assume airs of decorum. The accusing figure of Mr. Bryant awaited them. Lord Cheriton too was only a little way off. He stood by the railings looking the picture of outraged delicacy.
When the runaways came up to greet him he held up both hands before his face with the gesture of dismay of a very nice old lady
“I am dumb,” said he.
Apparently Jim Lascelles was smitten with a similar infirmity. As for Miss Perry, the ineradicable instincts of her sex assumed the control of that irresponsible person.
“Have you seen Gobo?” she demanded breathlessly.
The blend of disinterested concern and absolute innocence was perfectly charming.
“I could never have believed it,” said Cheriton, with a pained air. “The finished duplicity, the Jesuitical depth.”
