ABSTRACT

From 'The Subject of Social Administration' it is clear that for Titmuss a central question raised in an attempt to identify that subject is 'what distinguishes social policy from economic policy?' For Titmuss, the centre of social administration is the study of welfare objectives and social policy, and this in turn is concerned with the analysis of the social element in human relations. Before discussing Kenneth Boulding's view, it is perhaps worth pausing to consider the place of social work in Titmuss's scheme of things. Titmuss sees social policy as concerned with services to meet social needs in general: some social needs are not common and so selective services come into view. Titmuss's thesis about social administration's concern with types of moral transaction is, then, developed by his drawing attention to the importance of moral status and identity in moral transactions. Titmuss draws a distinction between 'stranger' relationships and 'face-to-face' relationships.