ABSTRACT
The worlds of social administration and politics rarely intersect in academic circles. The study of a particular social problem will lead the investigator to areas of inquiry that have already been successfully developed by other disciplines. The influence of European integration has in fact been experienced directly in UK social policy, for example, in the ruling on equal treatment for men and women in social security. The traditional image of theory in the discipline of social administration is rather like the role of travellers’ tales for the Victorian bourgeoisie: some intrepid individuals explore the strange delights that are on offer, but mass consumption only takes a second-hand form. The Fabian insistence, undoubtedly correct as far as it goes, that the collection of evidence and the discussion of technical details are necessary conditions for any successful social policy can be misread as the stronger proposition that they are sufficient.
