Marxist, Feminist and Liberal Approaches

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that Marxist, liberal, and feminist approaches share a pivotal characteristic in common in that all three are concerned with the needs of the oppressed. However, the writer discusses that although these approaches are similar in certain respects, they are basically quite distinct in their identification of which social and economic needs are to be given priority, their proposed solutions to social problems, and in implementation of solutions. The writer points out that the liberal approach is especially distinct from the other two approaches since the term 'oppressed' does not so adequately fit. This paper focuses on the socioeconomic context and salient issues in New France in order to apply and illustrate those three approaches.

From the Paper:

"The Marxist approach would also maintain that the state operates as a means for social control and that it serves he purposes of emerging commercial capitalism. In addition, creating a program of social services may be somewhat empowering but it also oppresses people. Another Marxist criticism of the liberal approach would be that the liberal goals of social security would impose a severe burden on habitants who were already paying a tithe to the Church. As far as the Marxist approach is concerned, the work by religious orders and especially by nuns served to promote and reinforce the class system. Nuns' origins ranged from the nobility to wealthy backgrounds, and class differences were also observed in school programs which conformed to a social hierarchy."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bryden, P.E. Planners and Politicians. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1997.
• Finkel, Alvin. Course Guide History 528. Canadian Social Policy: History and Current Trends. Athabasca University, 2007.
• Finkel, Alvin. Social Policy and Practice in Canada. Waterloo: Wilfred Laurier University Press, 2006.
• Mitchinson, Wendy. "Early Women's Social Organizations and Social Reform: Prelude to the Welfare State" in Reading File.
• Noel, Jan. "Femmes Fortes and the Montreal Poor in the Early Nineteenth Century" in Reading File.

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