Taking as its focus three familiar and profoundly influential social institutions, the family, work and welfare, this accessible and exciting text looks at their role in maintaining social order and promoting social change in Britain from the 1950's to the beginning of the twenty first century. It shows how everyday life within these institutions is marked by the exercise of power and resistance and it charts the ways in which wider social change has affected these processes. Ordering Lives: Family, Work and Welfare engages with some of the most pressing issues affecting our society in a lively yet academically rigorous manner. At the same time, it offers students of the social sciences a crucial first introduction to the way that theory is used in social science explanations of social relations and institutional arrangements. This is a key introductory text for all students beginning study in sociology, social policy or general social sciences.Does it any longer make sense to talk about a welfare state in today's UK?

The role of social policy in shaping and supporting power relations in society is examined in this introductory textbook prepared for social science students at Britain's Open University. It begins with an analysis of power and the way both overt and covert power relations permeate human affairs. Contrasting the ideas of Weber and Foucault, the authors show that any account of social policy must be based on an understanding of power. The subsequent chapters develop this theme by examining the way basic social institutions such as family, work and social welfare function within the context of power relations..
-Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, Vol. 28 no. 3, September 2001
The role of social policy in shaping and suporting power relations in society is examined in this introductory textbook prepared for social science students at Britain's Open University...Although the book is written for British students, its focus on the pervasive role of power in shaping human behavior and social relations will have relevance to other societies. Since it is written for undergraduates, the book is somehwat basic but its readable exposition shows how the Foucauldian perspective has influenced social policy thinking..
-Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, Vol. 28, No. 3, September 2001