These writing assignments are meant to help you think about the readings and to prepare you for class discussions. For that reason, when you write a response it is important that you give your opinions and that you relate your thoughts to the reading. Remember that these are exam questions and that they are graded as such. You ought to write them as though you are writing questions on a midterm or a final exam.

Respond to one of the following questions by writing a response on the class Discussion Board on Blackboard at least one hour before class on the date the question is listed. Put your name in the text of the question and give the question number as listed below. Without these I can't tell who wrote the question or what you are responding to. You then have until Midnight on the following Sunday of that week to revise your response if you wish to do so and to submit it for grading. To submit your responses, send them via email to milofsky@bucknell.edu.

Your final version of this question is due by midnight, Sunday, October 4.

In Hunter and Milofsky's book, Pragmatic Liberalism, one of the assertions is that the major ideologies that have informed public policy debates and arguments over the last forty years have been understood to be mutually exclusive of each other. That is, one cannot simultaneously hold conservative, liberal, and radical perspectives because the theories underlying each model are mutually exclusive and fundamentally in conflict with each other. One argument of Hunter and Milofsky is that this is not really true.

10-2. Briefly tell what is meant by "the market". Then explain why the metaphor of the market is thought to be useful by some for understanding social services and social problems.

Gordon is a radical economist, so it is not surprising that in his presentation economic ideas play a big role. One of the central ideas is that of "the market". One thing that might puzzle students who have taken some economics courses is how you can apply the concept of the market to social problems and social services. The market is anchored in ideas of supply and demand, which seem to be related to businesses and when businesses grow or decline and how consumers needs are met.

10-3. Explain the difference between personally accepting a conservative, radical, or liberal political perspective, on one hand, and accepting that the conservative, radical, or liberal perspective accurately describes and analyzes a particular social situation or social problem. Does an accurate analysis mean that we must accept the action agenda of a particular perspective?

Some of our readings describe situations and give analyses that fit particular ideological perspectives. We will see that the realities of business dominance in health care fits the radical analysis of social services. When we look at schools, Bryk will give an analysis that is more consistent with a conservative view and Kozol gives a perspective that is somewhere between liberal and radical. If we personally think of ourselves as conservative or radical how do we deal with these empirical situations that fit a contrary model? If you're a conservative does that mean you have to deny that big business dominates health care? If you're a radical does that mean you cannot accept that motivated, exclusive communities might produce the best education for children? This question asks you to make sense of the difference between personal ideological beliefs and empirical situations that fit the assumptions of different models.