Social Policy and the Life Cycle: A Developmental Perspective

Abstract

Social policy theory is stalemated because of its abstracted and reified thinking. We must rediscover the contents of social life by examining the work-family system in a developmental perspective. Demographic data point to a more varied household composition today based on a greater number of transitions in life states for individuals. Work data point to the decline of the full-time, lifetime job or career. Together these two sets of data suggest the emergence of a fluid life cycle. Social policy must be based both on a framework that takes account of the developmental tasks of individuals as they construct a more fluid life cycle and on specific policies for transitions between life states.