Social Construction and Public Essay

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Constructionist Policy Design Approach

Policy design approach can be described as mechanisms or measures that are utilized to develop and implement policies in light of specific goals. These goals provide the specific issues that need to be addressed by the policy during implementation. According to Schneider & Ingram (1997), some of the most essential components of public policy include problem definition, goal articulation, probable benefits, target population, policy directives or rules, and tools to be utilized in implementing the policy directives. In most cases, policies are developed and established to help address some aspects of social behavior in order to enhance the quality of life and experiences of people. There are different policy design approaches that are utilized in the development and enactment of policies including the constructionist policy design approach. This approach suggests that policies are developed and implemented based on the social realities of citizens. This approach can be utilized in understanding why public policies usually fail to serve democracy, and comprehend social justice impacts of public policy.

Constructionist Policy Design Approach and Democracy

The constructionist policy design approach was developed by Schneider and Ingram (1997) to explore how social realities shape public policies. Schneider & Ingram (1997) argue that social construction is the various measures through which social realities of the world are influenced and developed. Consequently, policy scholars believe that public policy is targeted towards the beliefs, stereotypes, and images that shape people's identities and link them with others within a social group that is likely to benefit or obtain burdensome policy. Schneider & Ingram (1997) further contend that since social construction focuses on dealing with social realities, public policies are mainly geared towards addressing social problems and governance issues within the country. This essentially means that policy design in intrinsically intentional and normative since policies are developed and implemented to serve specific interests, values, and purposes. According to Burnier (1994), an individual's realities developed to become a specific social order because reality is viewed as a social construction.

One of the critical governance issues that need to be addressed through public policy is democracy, which is an important component in the establishment of political leadership. In many countries across the globe, political leaders are elected through a democratic process. Democracy is a term that literally means rule by the people, which implies that the majority have their way with regards to political decision making. While democracy provides an opportunity for the minority to express their thoughts and opinions, the will/wishes of the majority ultimately prevails. The current form of democracy that is used in political decision making and leadership across the globe is representative democracy. In this case, people elect individuals to represent them in public governance through different political institutions or systems. Therefore, democracy essentially entails the implementation of the wishes/will of the majority or rule by the people and for the people. Governments and public policymakers are established/elected by the people in order to serve their (people) interests.

Throughout history, public policies have seemingly often failed to serve democracy as shown by the pervasive criticisms of public policies. The failure of public policies to serve democracy can be explained using different concepts such as Schneider and Ingram's constructionist policy design approach. In essence, the failure of public policy to reflect the wishes/interests of the people can be explained in several ways including the constructionist policy design approach. While numerous policies have been adopted to help promote democracy or serve people's interests, they have failed to achieve this goal despite addressing some of the fundamental individual rights relating to political participation. In the United States, citizens have continued to express their dissatisfaction with the country's democracy though they have the right to vote, freedom of speech, and liberty to run for political office/positions. Even though various public policies have been enacted to increase citizens' participation in governance, they have largely failed to serve the interests/wishes of the people. On one hand, public policies focus on promoting the involvement of citizens in political processes and decision making. On the other hand, these policies do not serve the other wishes/interests of the people because politicians enact policies that serve their own interests.

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Through the constructionist policy design approach, one of the reasons society produces public policies that usually fail to serve democracy is the failure of the policies to meet people's expectations or interests. For instance, policymakers are expected to identify pressing issues in the society and formulate policies that help in dealing with the issues effectively. In some cases, policymakers develop and enact public policies that fail to address major issues in the society in an effective manner. Social realities, which are the premise of social construction, shape people's expectations and interests. Public policies are established to help meet these interests and expectations in order to be considered effective. Public policies have failed to serve democracy because they are relatively incapable of meeting the needs, expectations or interests of the society. This is particularly true when the policies are considered from a governance perspective i.e. how public officials and institutions work towards meeting the interests and needs of people. In this regard, public officials and institutions do not implement policies in a manner that effectively address the interests and expectations of the people. Consequently, the enacted policies fall short in serving the people's interests or meeting their expectations. As public policies fail to serve people's interests, they also fail to empower, enlighten, and involve the public (citizens) in self-government process (Soss, 1999).

For example, economic development and labor policies have failed to offer long-term economic wellbeing to citizens in a manner that meets their expectations. Actually, people are forced to struggle with increased income inequality because of relatively heavy taxation and regulatory policies (Schneider & Ingram, 1997). On the other hand, policies that are geared towards providing welfare have ended up generating economic dependency rather than ending poverty as they are intended. Due to this economic dependency, welfare receivers rely on initiatives/actions by public officials and institutions to survive, especially in light of tough economic times (Soss, 1999). While politicians deliver speeches on enhancing the plight and predicament of welfare recipients during legislative debates and electoral campaigns, welfare policies are enacted and implemented in a manner that does not end poverty.

The above examples demonstrate the discrepancy between the public policies and people's expectations. As long as these discrepancies continue to exist, public policies will continue falling short of serving democracy. While public policies are designed based on people's interests, the implementation is not carried out in a manner that addresses these interests and expectations. From a social construction perspective, public policies do not effectively tackle the devastating social realities of people, which implies that they significantly fail to serve democracy, which is based on the will of majority of the people.

The second explanation on why the society produces public policies that usually fail to serve democracy based on a social constructionist perspective is that policy designs seemingly discourage active citizenship (Schneider & Ingram, 1997). In most cases, policy development processes are led by public officials and legislators who engage in huge debates regarding policy directives and intentions. During this process, the policy development measures are not necessarily driven by people interests, but are largely influenced by the wishes and desires of policymakers and legislators. While policymakers and legislators are mandated with the task of developing policies that enhance the lives of the citizens, they may fail to engage active citizen participation in the policymaking process. Schneider & Ingram (1997) state that some societal contexts encourage the use of policy designs that promote antidemocratic tendencies, which are in turn harmful to democracy. The choice of such policy designs is influenced by the fact that policy designs are usually by-products of a vibrant historical process that incorporates social constructions of target populations, institutions, and power relationships. This implies that policymakers and legislators utilize their own social constructions of knowledge, institutions, target populations and power relationships. The dependence on social construction of these factors may not necessarily reflect the current interests and expectations of people, which in turn makes the society to produce public policies that serve democracy. Therefore, the flawed public policies with regards to serving democracy can be attributed to the degenerative pattern of policy making processes and deceptive social constructions….....

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