The Absent Minority in Welfare Planning: Entitling or Overburdening Citizens with Responsibility?

Abstract

In Finnish health care and social welfare legislation, a shift towards strengthening the individual’s right to participate has been significant during the past two decades. While the traditional presumption of citizen involvement and developing of deliberative democracy lies on normality and social activism, it is becomingapparent that the substantial amount or Finnish social and healthcare expenditure is used by one tenth of citizens who do not fit into this category and can be considered as large-scale consumers of the services. We refer to this group, identified by high service consumption and low participation, as the absent minority. In this paper, we illuminate the legislative and participative possibilities of involving and acknowledging this group in communal welfare service development.

Participative Policymaking in Complex Welfare System: A Delphi Study

“…286-289. ) In the context of welfare policies, the accentuation of the subjective perceptions should be of the deviant, vulnerable and marginal groups (Raisio, Valkama & Peltola, 2014) that can also be considered as large-scale consumers of the welfare services (Perttola & Pernaa, 2016). Welfare service organizations are balancing between their tolerant, customer-oriented values and a strain of efficacy and simultaneously, not only smooth away deviant voices but "assume the right to define and diagnose normality and deviance" (Riikonen,Makkonen & Smith,p.…”

“…Puyn & Gamassou, 2017) and policymaking practices towards enabling co-evolutionary practices (Mitleton-Kelly, 2011b). In the welfare service context, the small marginal group of large-scale service consumers (see Perttola & Pernaa, 2016) should be of considerable relevance in the comprehension of the systemic policy influences. Yet although widely approved, the citizen participation in policymaking processes is developing at slow pace (Raisio 2010;Möttönen 2012;Monno & Khakee, 2012).…”

Society as an Interaction Space

“…286-289. ) In the context of welfare policies, the accentuation of the subjective perceptions should be of the deviant, vulnerable and marginal groups (Raisio, Valkama & Peltola, 2014) that can also be considered as large-scale consumers of the welfare services (Perttola & Pernaa, 2016). Welfare service organizations are balancing between their tolerant, customer-oriented values and a strain of efficacy and simultaneously, not only smooth away deviant voices but "assume the right to define and diagnose normality and deviance" (Riikonen,Makkonen & Smith,p.…”

“…Puyn & Gamassou, 2017) and policymaking practices towards enabling co-evolutionary practices (Mitleton-Kelly, 2011b). In the welfare service context, the small marginal group of large-scale service consumers (see Perttola & Pernaa, 2016) should be of considerable relevance in the comprehension of the systemic policy influences. Yet although widely approved, the citizen participation in policymaking processes is developing at slow pace (Raisio 2010;Möttönen 2012;Monno & Khakee, 2012).…”

Deliberative future visioning: utilizing the deliberative democracy theory and practice in futures research

“…Less attention has been paid to the inclusion of groups with social disparities and their experiences, crucial in strengthening societal resilience. [65] The highly normative comprehension of deviancy approaches it from administrative supremacy, focusing on controlling the menace to society while a type of perspective to deviancy could be their divergent interpretations of the society as well as facing the society's implicit undercurrents and bringing them explicit. It is also a prerequisite for understanding the unsatisfactory present and the previous unsuccessful efforts to maintain or increase the well-being of the society.…”