Writing for the British Academy blog, Peter Taylor-Gooby explores concepts of societal need. In the article, Professor Taylor-Gooby asserts:
‘Social policy is a field of study rather than a discipline. It focuses on human need and what governments and other bodies can do to meet it. It developed as an academic practice in western countries after the Second World War, alongside the rise of the welfare state. The core areas of study were initially health services, personal social services and social care, housing and homelessness, cash benefits and pensions, education, and the government policies, regulations and financing that support and shape them.’
You can read the full article on the British Academy website.