Social Policy Planning: Themes, Principles and Perspective in Uganda

Catherine Harriet Mwine, PhD researcher Education Management, New Era University,
Quezon City, the Philippine
PhD researcher Business Anthropology San Sebastian, College, Metro Manila, the
Philippines
St Andrews Theological Seminary, Quezon City, the Philippines

Chapter Five: Peace Building and Ethnic Conflict Relations in the Great Lakes Region

Chapter Eight: Principles of Social Policy Planning

I firmly believe that books from which this chapter is derived are the carrier of civilization and
providers of knowledge. They help in the production of new regimes of knowledge and without
books, history is silent, literature irrelevant and obsolete, science disabled and crippled,
especially in the societal context. It is a common phenomenon for people to conclude that in
Uganda the reading culture is very low that reading is not in the societal cultural patterns and
trimmings. How will people develop a reading culture where there is no facilitated writing
culture? Without contextualized knowledge challenge for a change for a better future is always a
dream, and inspiration in vein.

I write in reference to the conventional practice which I will preface with a brief experience
account. I have taught social policy for several years in several universities in Uganda. It is
common phenomena in the academia to look for existing literature for teaching and instruction.
However, most of the scholarly works on several social policy issues are written by foreigners
with foreign illustrations such as the welfare state, poor law in Britain. These illustrations are
abstract to social policy students in Africa. The resultant effect to this scenario is that the
inspiration among the students to apply the acquired body of knowledge is as I said earlier at a
standstill.

While attention to availability of social policy texts is well merited, intervention to write texts
with explorations and historical accounts of our Ugandan and African own policies with
authentic illustrations is imperative. This position is visibly lacking in existing texts on social
policy issues. While writing this book and this chapter in particular, I worked with a
presumption that it will contribute to the filling of this gap, so that social policy as a discipline
can find its theoretical and empirical location in our own academic space and on the web of
science.

Chapter Eight: Principles of Social Policy Planning

In developing or designing of social policies, societies and all organizations are guided by certain
procedures. In order to guard our position and avoid blame for unfavorable social policies, social
policy principles proved to be a perfect instrument. In the same regard, several works, especially
that of Idaho, Konopka, Hamilton, (2001) contributed to the significance of social policy
principles when the trio contended that social policy principles are general rules, or laws,
concepts of fundamental truth that are generally accepted tenets. They are the means through
disciplines create a dynamic movement into impetus for new knowledge on the web of science.
In the discipline of social policy, they can be referred to as principles.
There are five principles, which are used as a baseline in the construction, designing and
implementation of social policies.

Social Justice in social policy planning

There are two mainstream principles of social justice; in the liberal theory there is the principle
of justice, which is also found in the Libertarian school of thought. This principle recommends
that social conditions, social structures and the social environment should avail each person the
most extensive basic liberty compatible with similar liberty to others in totality.
Several writers in the philosophical space, for example, Kymlicka (1990), discussed that the
general conception of social justice recommends that all social primary goods, liberty and
opportunities, for example education, income and all base motives that can lead to self respect
should be harmonized and approximately distributed equally.

The principle also agitates against unequal distribution unless such distribution is to the
advantage of the least favored. Consequently, the 1.5 point policy supplement to female students
at Makerere University underpins Kymlicka’s argument. The points are given to the female
students on the premise that there has been inequality in social conditions in many societies in
regard to the girl child. It has not been uncommon for families to give the boy child preference to
remain in school in times of deficiencies, hence consequential imbalances of education
opportunities between both genders.

In fact, Kyamlicka (1991) concurred with Gilbert and Specht (1994) when the duo independently
discussed the theory of justice, equal distribution of opportunities and resources. On the other
hand, distributive justice is concerned with the allocation of resources, which is the basic pre-
occupation of social policy.

Crime and retribution as a dimension of equal justice

The product of social justice is concerned with two categories: collective justice and
redistributive justice.
This category of collective justice attempts to create a balance between deviance, crime and
retribution.

Collective justice
The classical debates on crime were a pre-occupation of the law profession but in recent times it
has taken an eclectic position. The law profession has gained its location in the trans-disciplinary
professional space by borrowing theoretical models from other professions such as social work,
psychology, sociology and anthropology.
Collective justice is concerned with crime, and the policies in this regard are always safety nets
to arrest the negative multiplier effects of crime, which result from social problems. Some laws
define harmless acts as crimes, while many acts that create injuries to societies are technically
legal. Etzioni (1967) highlighted the various ways which are injurious and which required ad
hoc policies to ensure equal redistribution of justice. The children’s statute provides a good
illustration of social justice.

Although the policy maker is to ensure justice and protect the society from injury, there are such
policies which make the latter viable. The second principle of justice is the principle of
efficiency and that of maximizing the sum of advantages.

Uganda prisons service: an illustration of social justice (crime and redistribution)

Uganda prisons service, attached to Luzira Women Prisons Welfare & Rehab. Section
Background:
When we ask how collective justice is introduced in a society, we immediately encounter
some problems. One is the question on which act will be taken as crime with different
degrees of ease and which will be rejected. Uganda Prisons is an institution which derives its
existence from the calculation of crime and retribution. However many people find
themselves in this establishment when they do not deserve the punishment.
Uganda prisons service is part of an integrated justice system in the justice/law and order
sector. It is under the ministry of internal affairs; established to contribute to the protection of
all members of society by providing reasonable, safe, secure and humane custody and
rehabilitation of offenders in accordance with universally accepted standards.
Prison service is composed of the Commissioner General and Deputy Commissioner
General, Regional Prisons Commanders, District Prison Commanders, Officers in Charge of
Prisons, Directors, Heads of Departments at Prison Headquarters and other persons appointed
as members of the Prison Service under article 215 of the constitution.

Mission: The mission of the agency is to contribute to the protection of all members of
society by providing a reasonable, safe, secure and humane custody of offenders in
accordance with universally accepted standards, while encouraging and assisting them in
their rehabilitation, reformation and re-integration as law abiding citizens.

• Counseling and guidance of convicted women prisoners and those with HIV\AIDS
• Vocational training skills to the prisoners
• Functional literacy program to women prisoners who do not know how to read and
write.
• Tracing and follow up of prisoners especially for resettled purposes.
• Provision of recreational activities for example music, dance and drama, and sporting
activities.
• Paralegal advisory services to increase access to justice
• Placement of female prisoners babies back to the community.
• Linking people on remand with their relatives to enable them get bail, thereby
decongesting prisons.
Redistributive Justice
Redistribution of resources
The fundamental philosophy common in social welfare policies is the support for redistribution
of resources. In order to guide the position of redistribution, the Marxist discourse proves to be a
perfect instrument. This philosophical base entails taking from those who have high indices or
opportunities ( the haves) for example the rich, the employed and the business community, to the
poor, the unemployed (the have nots).
The philosophy is reflected in the taxation policy where those with high indices are taxed and the
resources are distributed through the provision of social services and other universalities such as
education, quality education and health services to the poor.

Redistributive justice is concerned with the allocation of resources; this tends to be the
preoccupation of social policy.
In the effort to carry out analysis of social justice, several philosophers posed a question: Are the
principles of social justice chosen?
The answer to the above question can be that there are basic requirements to lead a good life.
They include the following
1. Social primary goods-
Social institutions, income, wealth opportunities and powers, rights and liberties, directly
distributed (Cohen 1968).
2. Natural primary goods, for example, intelligence, imagination, health and natural
talents.
In choosing the principle of justice, people behind the veil of ignorance seek to access those
primary goods, distributed by social institutions. Social justice addresses such issues as the
fairest way of dividing the benefits of the society among its members.
Taxation policy was designed based on the philosophy of redistributive justice.

The Pay As you Earn (PAYE) policy work with a presumption that those who have the highest
indices (opportunities) in society such as education have the ability to get employment, and
access all the basic needs. If that individual is taxed, then the tax revenue can be used by the state
to harmonize the basic needs by constructing schools, hospitals and infrastructure so that those
who for some reason don’t have money to pay can access free social services. If the state
provides free quality services, then the one who is taxed doesn’t have to take his/her children to
private schools or seek medical services in private clinics.

Social Equality in social policy

The search for social equality is a fundamental justification for designing social policies.
It was identified and recommended by Rawls (1967), that each person is to have an equal right to
the most extensive total system of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar system of
liberty for all. Social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they benefit the least
advantaged.

The intuitive quality of opportunities

The prevailing justification for economic distribution in society is based on the idea of
opportunity (Rawls 1967). Inequalities of income and prestige are assumed to be justified only if
there was fair competition in the awarding of offices and positions that yield those benefits.
However, some writers, for example Kyamlicka (1997), among others, have presented critiques
on Rawals argument. They independently emphasized that empathy is of paramount importance
during opportunity allocations and desire that the people who fill the position are entitled to a
greater share of society’s resources.

In the same regard, Rawls maintained that such people should be paid more only if it benefits all
the members of society. This argument can be illustrated in social policy on poverty alleviation.
Howard, a renowned sociologist, provided a supplementary view that concurred with the above
in his poverty analysis when he observed that people crusading to fight poverty actually benefit
from it because poverty provides employment and a status in the society.

The value principle of social equality

The value principle of social equality prescribes that benefits should be allocated in a way which
can equalize the equation of resource and opportunities available in society and create
equilibrium. When working with the value principle of social policy, policy makers should carry
out a systematic enquiry and interrogate the nexus in the variable that may hinder certain groups
in the society to benefit from the policy.

In universal education the following may hinder all the children in UPE Schools to benefit
equally;

1. If parents cannot afford to pay education, then they may most likely fail to provide food. The
state included in the UPE policy provision of lunch to all the children in UPE schools because
hungry people cannot learn.
2 Teacher-pupil ratio. The state embarked on training more teachers.
3 Construction of more classrooms increased enrolment in Universal Primary Education (UPE)
and Universal Secondary Education (USE) schools.
Training of teachers in special education to cater for children with disabilities and employing
education officers who are trained in the area of special education.

In the health policy, the value principle leads to:

1 The provision of ambulances
2 Sensitizations which can help people adopt positive health seeking behaviors towards modern
medicine instead of assigning all sickness to witchcraft and spirits.
Attitudes of health workers may also hinder the users to go to health centers and opt to remain in
their communities where they get complications such as fistula; a health condition , which results
from prolonged labor, that cause a damaged bladder. Woman with this health disorder can not
control urine. They become stigmatized, husbands reject them and they become social out casts.
The problem may seem insurmountable but can be corrected by a simple operation.
The value principle is imperative because it helps policies do not elapse in a state of absolutism.
The issue of opportunities in our society should be approached with a degree of perspectives and
balance. This takes us to the discussion of ideological perspective of social policy. Rawls (1967)
and Kyamlika (1991) articulated in eloquent terms the approaches about full opportunities. The
implication of the prevailing view of equality of opportunities is as follows:

Social inequalities are undeserved, and should be rectified or compensated

1. To say that natural inequalities can influence distribution in accordance with equality of
opportunity, the compensation high-lighted by this argument can be illustrated by state
policies, which can neutralize the inequality.
2. Rawls (1969) goes beyond the checklist when he observed that some people are born with
disadvantaged positions, for example, lack of access to factors which empower people i.e.
land, education, and money. Such people should not be denied social benefits but also have
claim to compensation.
3. In this regard for compensation, I am prompted to mention how the government of Uganda
tried to revisit the Land Policy Act. It was a contentious issue from those who benefit from
the inequality which was engineered by the colonialists’ imperialistic enterprise of divide and
rule.
4. The issue of compensation has been a building block for friendly social policies through
affirmative actions, for example, gender sensitive development projects and a conducive
climate for the increment in school enrolment for the girl child.

There are both intrusive and contract reasons for recognizing natural handicaps, for example,
lack of land, education, and subsidies in the agro-industry as viable compensation areas. This
also includes natural primary goods in the index which determines who is in the least well off
position and who is worthy compensation.
Such evaluations are primarily the central yard-paramount for the government before designing
social policies.

The principle suggests that social policies should not be designed along narrow parochial
interests, which are non- discriminating. Universalities for example Universals, such as primary
Health Programs Immunization, are examples of compensations.
The ideology of equal opportunity seems fair to a significant number of people because it
ensures that people are not victims of circumstances.

The principle of Social Equity

The concept of social equity just means fair treatment. The galaxy of the founding fathers of
philosophy, include Aristotle, Pluto and Kant who contributed significantly to the theme of
equity when they provided a concordance that there is a fundamental difference between treating
people “equally and fairly”.
A useful classification of equity was provided by Fink (1998) who identified two categories of
equity.
• Horizontal equity and
• Vertical equity
Horizontal equity refers to equality principle of “like treatment for like people in like
circumstances”.
An example that can provide a sharp illustration is when you look at a scenario that involves a
segment of people who are HIV positive. One segment can buy ARVs and the other segment is
not economically empowered to buy. The horizontal equity advocates for state intervention in the
provision of ARVs for the segment, which is economically disabled. Horizontal equity advocates
that if 20% of the populace is HIV positive and only 55 can afford to buy ARVs, then it is the
moral duty of the state to design health policies that can enable the 15% of the population to
access free ARVs. In fact it is a moral imperative because sick people cannot participate in the
development frame-work of a nation state and what is a nation without people? Most of the
education and health policies are designed on the bases of horizontal equity.

Some examples of state intervention can be illustrated by the designing of ad hoc policies that
can harmonize and universalize the provision of health services to all HIV positive people.
The designing of social policies per se cannot guarantee accessibility and can prove
insurmountable if such policies are not interpreted into favorable social services that can be
absorbed and consumed at grass-root level.
Horizontal equity goes on to assert that equal but separate is not necessarily fair treatment. In
extreme cases, it can lead to injustice.

Vertical equity
Vertical equity in contrast to horizontal equity evokes the principle of “to each according to
need”. I suggest that vertical equity if it is elaborated in its original context and in eloquent
terms, it is the force behind the designing of affirmative action policies such as gender policies
which will be discussed in detail in the subsequent chapters of this volume.
Affirmative action policies for example in principle assert that individuals from economically
deprived backgrounds need special treatment if they are able to make use of existing social
policies for example, education policies. The policy of 1.5 point at Makerere University is a great
illustration of vertical equity. Students from rural districts in Uganda are taken on less entry
points in state universities compared to students from urban districts.
The policy was engineered while working with the presumption that culturally in many societies;
girls are deprived of education friendly environments. The quarter system policy in education in
Uganda illustrates the philosophy behind vertical equity. The policy works with the presumption
that children studying from urban districts, are provided with a conducive environment that
facilitates studying unlike those studying in rural areas where there is no adequate basic needs
and available utilities such as electricity and running water. State universities may require 23
points in urban districts, for a student to be taken on government funding, but when the principle
of vertical equity is considered, a student from rural district with 17 points can qualify for
government funding. The vertical discourses are fundamental in empowering the disadvantaged
segments in society.

Some cultural practices that deprive the boy child information related to his sexuality,
encouraging promiscuity among the male gender. Actually it used to be a common phenomenon
for parents to keep a blind eye when their boy child is found engaging in sexual related
relationships with the opposite sex something which would not be tolerated with the Girl Child.
However, it is always a paradox because I want you to look at a scenario where the girl and the
boy are both minors, but when the boy impregnates the girl; he would be arrested and thrown
into prison where he would even get into contact with hard core criminals! Vertical equitable
policies are of paramount importance to address this problem. Even the language in the existing
penal code is gender insensitive.
It documents that “if a girl is sexually abused or harassed” this should be revisited to state that “if
a child or an individual is sexually abused or harassed.

Equitable policies in the job market

The convectional criterion for remunerations and access to quality services and purchasing
power is based on the individual’s contribution. There are some individuals however, who
cannot contribute because of structural reasons i.e. reasons which are not of their own making.
Those individuals belong to the marginalized segments in society and these are the orphaned
children, the unemployed, these apply to both genders and the disabled.
The Ugandan master plan entails designed strategies that can lead to equitable policies that can
improve on the living standards of the marginalized segments in society. This is illustrated in the
resource mobilization and management for women and children.

The Principle of social freedom

Social freedom should be reflected in the extent to which people are given liberty to exercise
their own preferences. In this regard, development and social workers under the principle of
social freedom would advocate for the way redistribution of government benefits are offered in a
form that allow recipients to exercise their group or individual preferences. This approach of
people making their preferences in development work will be discussed latter. Primarily we must
have a holistic view of the theory of “liberty”.

When we consider Libertarian as a theory, it is of paramount importance to look at its

operational definition, which refers to “freedom from too hard or “freedom from control”. The
libertarian theory is one of the theories used as the baseline for the construction of the following
social policies.
1 The World Bank Development policies policy such as Objective Oriented Project Proposals
(OOPPs).

The Resettlement policy in Kenya

While working with presumption that people on the move cannot be integrated in government
programs, the government of Kenya decided to implement a resettlement policy for the nomadic
communities. The project programs entailed provision of improved varieties of seeds such as
maize and beans. The project also provided technical support in the form of training is crop
husbandry to compel the nomadic people to settle in one place.
During project evaluation, the donors, policy makers and development workers organized a
cross-sectional representation of the nomadic communities to evaluate the impact of the project
on people’s livelihoods. The people were asked what they thought about the project, and if they
wanted the government to continue with the project. All the men replied that ‘’the project is a
great development factor and they recommended its continuation.
The women however, kept quit.
The experts, who understand the dynamic of gender relations and the impact of cultural patterns
on development discourse, employed the libertarian philosophy and separated the women and
talked to them separately. When the women were asked to give their pinion on the project, the
women said that “the project is terrible’’ they went on to say that they would not continue with
the it and in fact they added that if seeds, were brought, they would cook and eat them. When the
women were asked to elaborate, they said that beans required a lot of water and fuel wood. They
went on to say that water and fuel are very scarce resources and yet the gender division of labor
assigned water and fuel wood collection to the women. “The men just find food on the plate and
they do not know what we go through”. The integration of the libertarian moral philosophy led to
evolvement of the following projects;

Water projects
Tree planting campaigns, however, since this is rather a long time project, a project of fuel
saving devices was implemented.
The government of Uganda decided to help the pastoral communities by improving production
through exchanging of indigenous cattle with Frisian cows. Development experts suggested that
people with one hundred head of indigenous cattle should exchange them for only five Frisian
cows to increase production. What the experts did not put into consideration is that the local
people did not look at production as the development parameter per se, they also considered
status. For this reason, the local people refused the project in their area. The experts adhered to
the liberal philosophy, changed the policy and recommended an exchange of 1:2 ratios, which
resulted into recommendation of exchanging indigenous cattle with cross breed.

The principle of Social Freedom is also derived from the liberal philosophical paradigm at its
rigorous level. It was the force behind the implementation of the following policy and social
programs:

The Multi- Grade Education System in Kalangala district

The policy makers employed the liberal philosophy and implanted UPE in shifts in Kalangala
districts to allow the children participate in fishing.

ABEK: an Illustration of Liberal Moral Philosophy

The Alternative Basic Education for Karamoja (ABEK)

During needs assessment and survey on education, it was revealed that since the people of
Karamoja are pastoralists, they derived their livelihood from rearing cattle and attached a lot of
value to their cattle. The parents were not going to allow their children to go to school. The
government decided to develop a program where the teachers would follow the children grazing
the animals, and teach them form the fields.

Definition of Non-formal education

Non-formal or out-of-school education tends to be defined in terms of negations that are in terms
of what it is accepted by the community. As a result, the definition provided by Coombs (1973)
and his associates has come to be widely accepted. This states that non-formal education is any
organized educational activity outside the established system whether operating separately or as
an important feature of some broader activity, intended to serve identifiable clientele and
learning objectives.

Non-formal education is a loosely structured educational and training activity not located within
the highly structured formal educational and occupational performance system. It is usually
geared towards certain selected clientele and intended to achieve specific educational objectives.
It complements activities within formal educational and training system by providing extra-
curricular learning experiences, by offering opportunities for continuing education and by
supplying the educational base for the implementation of certain development oriented projects,
such as Animation Rural, Integrated Development Schemes.

A more radical definition of non-formal education (deriving from Freire's (conscioustization

process) is provided by Kindervatter (1979), who sees non-formal education as a not only
promoting the acquisition of information and skills but rather as an empowering process.

Empowering here is defined as:

In relation to literacy, vocational skills acquisition are consequently designed to enable people to
analyze critically their own life situations and develop the skills required for collaborative action
to improve their conditions of living.

Non-formal educational in Africa

Forojjala (1993) states that in Africa, the period of the 1960s and the early 1970s were times of
particularly rapid expansion in the formal education systems. Then, within the second half of the
1970s, limits to this expansion.

Secondly, in spite of the substantial increase in the size of the formal system since the 1960s,
continued population growth and resource limitations have meant that a large proportion of the
school age population is still not attending school. This is likely to continue as the possibility of
introducing Universal Primary Education has now greatly receded in most countries.
There is similarly less likelihood for the expansion of adult education program. Furthermore,
unemployment among school-leavers has appeared on the horizon and threatens political
stability. It was, therefore, out of this pressure that the demand for the rapid expansion of non-
formal educations was borne.

As a result, African governments and other organizations have evolved a diversity of pragmatic,
down-to-earth non-formal education schemes in the different countries. Some of the best known
amongst them are Botswana Brigades and the Kenya Village polytechnics. Characteristically,
most of the programs start with a small group of individuals working in small settings, often
funded by a private foundation or a religious group.

The genesis of Alternative Basic Education for Karamoja

There is a widely held prejudice against the pastoralist Karimojong by most policy makers,
liberal scholars and change agents since colonial times. The general perception is that the
Karamojong are inherently conservative and obstinately resistant to all propositions for change
and they are irrational economic actors, technically stagnant and primitive wandering erratically
and spoiling the range lands by creating desertification, and exhibiting conservative and
retrograde social structures and values. This prejudice and judgment is of an astounding
inhumanity, and pseudo-scientifically based on faulty data, erroneous perceptions and gross
misinterpretations and understanding of the functioning of pastoral systems.

Their conservatism is contextual because it depends on the way their systems operate and not on
their own choice; and to the extent to which they are required to change. Change takes time
because it is a dynamic, social process. It requires getting to know the people and entering into
their thinking. It is disastrous to change what has taken centuries to establish within a limited
time frame. The Karimojong are receptive to new ideas, but must be gradual and brought to bear
from their own perspective. This, therefore, is what policy and decision makers, change agents
and scholars should understand. The Karimojong require longer interaction, dialogue and
consultation, if new ideas are to be accepted.

The unique lifestyle has vexed plans of educational providers and governing elites, who are
among millions of people the world over, to whom education seems to mean only attending
primary, secondary and tertiary education, and institutions. They have considered that the
pastoralists' education system is mutually incompatible with the formal school system and so this
incompatibility must be removed by radical means.

While working with the liberal moral philosophy, policy makers in Uganda integrated the fore
mentioned cultural thought of the Karimojong and endeavored to recast at the pastoralist
problematic and proposed new and innovative ideas and developed the Basic Education Strategy
for the Karimojong children, with the consent and support of the local people while retaining the
pastoral and cultural nature of society. The initiatives have proposed refreshing options for action
that can affect the education and life of the Karimojong children directly and immediately and
provided in sights and an invitation to the thoughtful and mindful people.

Conveyers (1982) underpinned the relevancy of libertarian moral philosophy of taxation when he
observed that for the social policies to be implemented and trickle down to the right users,
societies must choose a suitable degree of government involvement in problems, and clustering.
The next stage, the users guided by the change agent-facilitators, develop an objective tree which
involves reflecting on the type of intervention can help to alleviate the identified problems.

With the change agents experience and expertise, they may be tempted to convince the users to
choose the kind of interventions, which they (change agents) deem viable. There have been
situations where users have been assertive and maintained their preferences of the intervention
despite the recommendation of change agents.
The philosophical discourses provided a relevancy of the libertarian theory in the social policy
space when it advocated that for social policies to be implemented and trickle down to the right
users, society users must give their preferences. The next stage, the users guided by the change
agent-facilitators, developed an objective tree which involves reflecting on the type of
intervention that can help to alleviate the identified problems.
With the change agents experience and expertise, they may be tempted to convince the users to
choose the kind of interventions, which they (change agents) deem viable. There have been
situations where users have been assertive and maintained their preferences of the intervention
despite the recommendation of change agents.

For this reason, it was the structure and imbalances in social policies that compelled (Rawls
1936, Brandt 1959 Nozick 1974) the fathers among others of political and moral philosophy to
look for a science of analysis. Libertarians defend market freedom and demand limitation on the
use of the for social policy Barry (1986).

The above statement by analysis, harbors a note of capitalism or free enterprise in which most
developing countries operate predominantly under uneconomic system of free enterprise. Such a
conclusion is reached basing on the thesis that, in capitalism, there is private ownership of the
means of production.

In such a system, in its purest form; there is little room for government to offer its people a
conducive climate to make their preferences. People own property directly or as share- holders
and as consumers. They participate in a free market that responds to the laws of supply and
demand. However, developing countries operate under mixed free enterprise system.
Privatization policy advocated by IMF and World Bank can illustrate a phenomenon that defied
the libertarian social policy principle of social freedom.

Libertarians, for example Hyek (1960) and Barry (1986) independently defended the libertarian
calculation of market freedom. Exceptions have been Nozick (1974) and particularly Gray
(1986) who supported the reverse. The quartet opposed the liberal theory, which advocated for
equality of opportunities through distributive taxation schemes.

Nozick criticized government interference in taxing people’s property, which is in parallel to the
utilitarian and liberal calculation of common good and equality of opportunities respectively. To
some, the disadvantage is a violation of people’s freedom of choice who more often than ever
exert or impose taxation on people through coercion.

To even conceptualize the libertarian claims of government violation of peoples’ social freedom,
would be to disempowering the government of its authority and legitimacy in it’s holistic role as
the “God father”. Government by definition is the peoples’ institution and process that make
rules for society and possesses the power to enforce them.

In this respect, it is the government’s responsibility to make policies that protect its people on the
basis of who gets what valued things in society, not to leave such critical issues, which determine
peoples’ welfare to market forces subscribed by libertarians.

Easton (1976) usefully observed that even in the smallest and simplest societies, someone must
intervene in the name of society with its authority behind to design societal policies. This
authoritative allocation of values is a minimum prerequisite for any society. Checks and balances
in the government, however rudimentary, are imperative in resolving differences in societies.
The above phenomena maybe the case because most governments seeking legitimacy subscribe
to the philosophy of democracy and governments in developing countries are no exceptions.

Authority as a Coercive Measure

Many scholars have tried to define authority as a resource allocation factor. The galaxy includes
Michael (1990), Juvenile (1997 and Kaplan. Their definitions tended to concur with that of
Lasilie (1992) who stated that authority is an innate tendency or capacity for exercising influence
and ascendancy over others.

The encyclopedia of social sciences defines authority as a manifestation of power and implies
obedience on part of the victims. The principle means of exercising authority is the dispensation
of punishment.

The encyclopedia’s definition expounds on the coercive dimension of the whole policy making
processes and the source of controversy between the state and the libertarian theory. It also
explains the harmonization of the modes of tax collection and the resultant consequences to the
defaulters the world over and how these approaches are viewed as legitimate.

In his book Introduction to Sociology, Hara Das observed that political decisions affect society
greatly. However, there must be sufficient resources to make the decision effective. He went on
to say that authority is the most effective resource, which the government can utilize.

The principle of Social Control

This principle is very much recommended and used as a baseline in the construction of
development organizational and government social policies.
While analyzing the principle of social control, it is rather imperative to accept the thesis of
Goodie (1988) who discussed that social control is a process of punishing wrong doing and
rewarding appropriate behavior. Social control is imperative to help the members of society to
co-exist in harmony. Social control gained its relevancy in the social policy debate by engaging
all the authorities whose job is to oversee the behavior of others. These authorities include
judges, who isolate criminals from societies by sending them to prison. Religious leaders are also
facilitated by the state through policies and laws which advocate for freedom of association.

The state works with the presumption that religion plays a fundamental role of diverting people
from indulging in criminal and deviant behaviors through religious laws and teachings. Teachers
also contribute to harmony model in society through the education system. Education liberates
people's minds by changing their attitude which otherwise could lead to deviant and criminal
behavior. Behavior can is always deviant only if it is defined as such by the society. In some
societies, promiscuity or fornication is defined as deviant, whereas in other societies, it is
sanctioned.

There are societies in Papua New Guinea which sanction homosexuality and sex before
marriage. If a man is found having sexual relations with a woman, he is despised and ridiculed.
Heterosexual relations are allowed only for procreation. Promiscuity is allowed in this society to
the extent that a parent can ask his/ her child the number of sexual patters he/she had before
he/she gets married. If they are few, the parent would recommend that the child should have sex
with more partners because he presumes that practice is the best teacher. Psychologists and
psychiatrists also contribute to social control by controlling peoples by guiding the minds of
people with psychological disorders.
Social control has been interpreted in the social policy space because it has played a fundamental
role in alleviating deviant behavior in societies. Any policy in society which helps to create
harmony and co-existence in society is always derived from the principle of social control.

Lombroso’s theory and deviant behavior and the principle of social control in policy
planning

The mode of deviance literature arguably saw Lombroso’s theory as rigorous, notwithstanding
certain flaws noted by the advocates of the opportunity theory. Lombroso’s (1935-1909)
attempted to fill the gap left by Darwin’s theory of evolution when he argued that the genetic
profiles of criminals entail genetic accidents representing a more primitive life form of human
evolution chain. These human beings are biologically defective and they are born criminals.
Lombroso’s ideas had parallels with the works of his contemporaries Sheldon (1949) and
(Sigmund Freud 1856-1939).

To assign deviant behavior to genetically inheritance would mean that the behavior is in the
direct governance of chromosomes and there is nothing one can do to change that behavior.
However, despite this view, it is logical to assert that to assign Lombroso’s theory to deviant
behavior such as theft, prostitution terrorist or genocide participation is being fairy simplistic.
These were theories that were rejected as no canonical and more scientific knowledge which
would be tested with empirical significance and that can bring a change in behavior of criminal
was required. Congruently, it can be said that the theory was found to be lacking in significance
and in the inspiration of behavioral change in particular. However, Lombroso's theory was the
force behind the construction of prison and banishment laws advocating for isolation of criminals
so that they do not endanger the society.

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