Book Review
The Supportive State: Families, Government, and America’s Political Ideals
by Maxine Eichner
New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2010
Reviewed by Solveig Spjeldnes
P
eople in the United States experience hardship due
to government social welfare policies that fail to
support family caregiving responsibilities. Despite
political rhetoric espousing that healthy families are key
to societal well-being, actual policies belie this position.
Unlike other first-world nations, U.S. federal policies
emphasize individualism that undermines the essential
family role of caregiving. Eichner demonstrates problems
with this model and offers solutions in her book, The
Supportive State: Families, Government, and America’s
Political Ideals. As an alternative model, she posits that
maintaining a thriving society requires that government
establish policies that support families’ ability to provide
care and nurture human development. Her compelling
arguments are bolstered by data about social welfare
behavior and trends and by an exhaustive review of literature from divergent positions. This book is a valuable
read for policy makers, social scientists, social welfare
and family policy advocates, social sciences faculty, and
helping professionals interested in family welfare.
The introduction and first chapter of The Supportive
State define and describe the liberal democratic theory,
noting the ideological frameworks that underpin relevant policies. Eichner references John Rawls and other
key theorists whom she asserts misconstrue family issues
and government’s role. Eichner defines the term “families” loosely as any partnerships and human supportive
relationships—not limited to the traditional (disappearing) two-parent, married, biological family. She clarifies
that the term “liberal” in her book does not refer to the
left-of-political-center definition, but rather refers to the
historical body of Anglo-American political thought that
focuses on the “importance of liberty, self-government,
and the equal worth of citizens” (p. 143). In this broader
definition, liberalism conceives of all citizens as fully
functioning adults who deserve unfettered freedom within legal limits. The reality, ignored in this theory, is that
many citizens are children and frail adults who require
care. In fact, at various times during adulthood anyone
may require care, and caregivers need to be supported to
perform this essential responsibility.
In the middle chapters, Eichner provides an in-depth
discussion about dependency, the family-state relationship, and the conundrum regarding work–family needs
within the current dysfunctional system. She discusses
Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services
©2012 Alliance for Children and Families
ISSN: Electronic 1945-1350
how to incorporate families as a central entity within the
liberal democratic theory and social welfare policymaking—considering both vertical (e.g., parent–child) and
horizontal (e.g., partner–partner) relationships. Eichner
argues that family should be the primary caregivers, but
they are only as effective as system and environmental
factors allow them to be. She further argues that the state
should support a variety of relationships that serve as
effective family units. Based on available literature, her
support of same-sex relationships is strong, as is her argument that the children of a variety of non-traditional
families thrive given healthy emotional and financial environmental factors.
Taking a feminist stance, she postulates that the
founding fathers and most policy makers considered
only landed men in theory and policy development.
Eichner notes that the longstanding liberal democratic
view assumed set gender roles when positing that families thrive when free of government interference. According to Eichner, families are not thriving and this
model has fundamental flaws. She cites trend statistics
showing the increases in workforce participation of
mothers with young children, greater numbers of single
parent and non-traditional households, increasing responsibility by adults for children and aging relatives
along with rigid lengthening work hours and financial
pressures. These factors are associated with greater
health and well-being problems for adults and children
during the past four decades. Despite these factors, policies have not adapted to allow women or men the opportunity to provide caregiving without risking job loss or
struggling to balance work and family needs.
Eichner is convincing in her assertion that family
members’ abilities to provide caregiving depend largely
on the framework of societal policies and institutions
within which they function. In her “supportive state”
model, the state should take responsibility for structuring social institutions to support families to allow them
to perform caretaking and human development functions without undue stress. Family rights and privacy are
presented as factors for consideration in this new model.
Eichner explains that the Family and Medical Leave Act
is inadequate as a supportive mechanism, considering
that leave is unpaid and restrictions are numerous. Other
nations provide extensive family benefits, demonstrating
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DOI: 10.1606/1945-1350.4243
http://www.familiesinsociety.org/ShowAbstract.asp?docid=4243
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FAMILIES IN SOCIETY ONLINE
a greater recognition of the value of caregiving to their
societies. She asserts that society’s goals do include raising healthy children to become productive citizens and to
nurse people during illness, which require time.
In the final chapter, Eichner proposes policies that
can protect and enhance child well-being. She forcefully
argues for a major shift in the role of government and
policy, yet asserts that her supportive state model can
complement rather than compromise the liberal democratic tradition that encourages individual freedom and
equality. Her position is that rather than continuing to
expand an extensive system to intervene when families
experience crises, the state should create a system that
prevents crises. She presents a list of such policies, many
that are in place in other nations, that include the following: employed caregivers (men and women) should
receive adequate incomes, flex time, paid leave, and reliable health care; work week hours should be capped; and
more vacation time should be allowed. Eichner further
espouses greater rights for children. As she contends,
given the dramatic increase in workforce participation
and the family composition and gender role changes,
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the present policies do not provide the institutional support for caregivers to raise healthy children and sustain
their own emotional and physical health while maintaining employment.
The Supportive State is a significant contribution to
the knowledge base pertaining to social welfare policy.
Eichner’s thorough review and insights are thought-provoking and she is methodical, organized, and logical in
her analysis and presentation. A criticism is that she is
somewhat redundant, apparently for emphasis. Any parent, child, sibling, or friend of an ailing loved one can relate to the dilemmas that Eichner seeks to resolve. However, social welfare policy change requires considerable
political will. Given the present political and economic
climate, most of Eichner’s controversial proposals may sit
on a shelf for some time before receiving wide acceptance,
yet all are worthy of careful consideration.
Solveig Spjeldnes, PhD, MSW, MA, assistant professor, Division of
Social Work, Ohio University. Correspondence: [email protected];
Ohio University, 522 Morton Hall, Athens, OH 45701.