social policy

Headquarters of the Social Security Administration in Woodlawn, Maryland Social policy is a plan or action of government or institutional agencies that aims to improve or reform society. Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize social policy and public policy to be two separate, competing approaches for the same public interest (similar to MD and DO in healthcare), with social policy deemed more holistic than public policy. Whichever of these persuasions a university adheres to, social policy begins with the study of the welfare state and social services. It consists of guidelines, principles, legislation, and associated activities that affect the living conditions conducive to human welfare, such as a person's quality of life. Social policy might also be described as actions that affect the well-being of members of a society by shaping the distribution of goods and resources and access to them. Social policy often seeks to alleviate precarity and wicked problems.

History