Mandating Work: A Social Psychological Analysis of Rising Neoliberalism in U.S. Public Assistance Programs

Abstract

Aligning with key neoliberal values of self-sufficiency, privatization, free market capitalism, and limited state support, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), popularly referred to as “welfare reform,” ushered in new restrictions on the receipt of public assistance (e.g., work requirements and time limits). Despite considerable debate regarding PRWORA's success and limited evidence that work requirements are effective, the neoliberal emphasis on work that informed welfare reform is increasingly being extended to other U.S. safety net programs. This analysis critically interrogates the current neoliberal push to extend and/or expand work requirements to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid. Examining the neoliberal politics and ideology that undergirds U.S. welfare policy and legitimizes restrictive work requirements, we examine the cultural construction of work as redemptive, the covert and overt functions of work requirements, and the damaging consequences of shifting societal obligation from the state to individuals. In doing so, we draw attention to who is harmed by and who benefits from “welfare reform.” We also consider how psychological research can be leveraged to challenge restrictive welfare policies and the further spread of neoliberal work mandates.