Table of Contents
- The Foundations of Universal Credit
- Foucault’s Disciplinary Power and Welfare
- Surveillance and the Welfare State
- The Role of Sanctions in Enforcing Compliance
- The Impacts of Universal Credit on Claimants’ Lives
- Sanctions and Inequality
- The Role of Neoliberalism in Discipline and Surveillance within Universal Credit
- Conclusion
- Poll
- Think!
- Essay Suggestions
- Research Suggestions
- Further Reading
Universal Credit (UC) is a welfare reform program introduced in the United Kingdom to simplify the benefits system and incentivize work. However, it has also been critically examined through the lens of sociological theories of power, discipline, and surveillance. In this article, we explore Universal Credit as more than just an economic policy, analyzing how it functions as a form of social control. We will use the frameworks of Michel Foucault’s ideas on disciplinary power and the concept of surveillance to unpack how UC creates a system that exerts control over recipients, enforces compliance, and monitors behavior. We further look at the role of neoliberalism. This analysis reveals that welfare policies like Universal Credit are not only tools for economic redistribution but also mechanisms that shape and regulate individual behaviors, often in ways that reproduce social inequalities.
The Foundations of Universal Credit
Universal Credit was introduced by the UK government in 2013 with the intention of streamlining the welfare system. It replaced six existing benefits, consolidating them into one monthly payment for those who are unemployed or on low incomes. The official rationale for UC is that it simplifies the benefits system, making it easier for claimants to understand and for the government to administer. Moreover, it is designed to ensure that work always pays more than welfare, thus incentivizing employment. While these aims seem benign, there is a deeper layer to the policy that involves a system of control and regulation.
One of the key features of Universal Credit is its focus on conditionality. Claimants must meet certain conditions—such as actively seeking employment or attending job-training programs—in order to receive benefits. These conditions are framed as empowering individuals to take responsibility for their own financial well-being. However, from a sociological perspective, this can also be seen as a form of discipline that enforces particular behaviors and norms. The requirement to prove one’s job search efforts is not just an administrative necessity but also a method of controlling how individuals use their time, behave, and interact with the labor market.
Foucault’s Disciplinary Power and Welfare
To understand Universal Credit as a system of discipline, Michel Foucault’s concept of disciplinary power is useful. Foucault argued that modern institutions, such as prisons, schools, and hospitals, operate through forms of power that are more subtle than direct coercion. Instead of punishing overt disobedience, these institutions mold individuals’ behavior through constant observation and correction. Power becomes internalized; individuals begin to regulate their own actions in line with institutional expectations. This type of power is less about overt punishment and more about creating compliant subjects.
In the context of Universal Credit, claimants are subject to various forms of monitoring and behavioral correction. For example, they are required to log their job search activities in an online system, and failure to meet targets can result in sanctions such as reduced payments or the loss of benefits. This system of sanctions represents a form of discipline that encourages claimants to conform to specific expectations regarding job-seeking behavior. Over time, claimants may internalize these expectations, disciplining themselves to ensure that they meet the conditions of the welfare system, even in the absence of direct oversight.
The sanctions system, in particular, plays a key role in reinforcing this disciplinary power. By tying financial support to compliance with specific activities, Universal Credit creates a situation where claimants are constantly aware that their actions are being monitored and evaluated. This leads to a form of self-regulation that is characteristic of disciplinary power. The fear of sanctions ensures that claimants adhere to the rules set by the welfare system, even when these rules may not align with their personal needs or circumstances.
Surveillance and the Welfare State
Surveillance is another critical concept in understanding the disciplinary nature of Universal Credit. Sociologically, surveillance refers to the monitoring of individuals in order to control and regulate their behavior. This can take many forms, from direct observation to the collection of data on individuals’ activities and movements. In the modern welfare state, surveillance plays an increasingly prominent role as technological advancements allow for more sophisticated monitoring of citizens.
Universal Credit utilizes digital technologies to monitor claimants more closely than traditional welfare systems. The use of online platforms for managing benefits claims and logging job-seeking activities creates a digital paper trail that allows the government to track and evaluate claimants’ behavior in real time. This form of surveillance is not neutral; it serves to reinforce the norms and values promoted by the welfare system, such as the expectation that individuals should constantly be seeking employment.
The requirement for claimants to report their activities online also creates new forms of visibility. Foucault’s concept of the “panopticon” is particularly relevant here. The panopticon, a prison design that allows guards to observe inmates without the inmates knowing whether or not they are being watched, serves as a metaphor for modern surveillance. Under Universal Credit, claimants may not know how closely their activities are being monitored at any given time, but the mere possibility of being observed encourages them to conform to expected behaviors. This leads to a form of self-surveillance, where individuals monitor their own actions to ensure compliance with the rules of the welfare system.
