Neoliberalism and the Underclass Thesis

Adaptation of social policy to the ideas and §philosophies of a socially conservative §neoliberalism during the last quarter of the 20th §century has led to new and emerging social divisions §legitimised by contentious assumptions about human §behaviour. Some welfare recipients are considered §behaviourally and/or morally deficient, crystallised in conservative accounts of an 'underclass'.§This book is a critical analysis of social divisions §in the context of a neoliberal policy environment. §The period under study is 1980 to 2005, with §focussed attention on Australian social policies §under the Howard-led socially conservative liberal §government post-1996. Guided by critical social §theory, the analysis draws on data on social §divisions, policy records, and field interviews, §that shows contemporary social policy is informed by §contentious assumptions about human behaviour, and §subsequently converted into corresponding welfare §practice.§The findings are an important contribution to §theoretical debates about social policy and the §underclass phenomenon, and have strategic §implications for future policy directions.