The suggestion that the President may wish to add to the White House’s existing bodies a Council of Social Advisers (CSA) has two versions. One, suggested by Fritz Mondale, and one outlined here.
1. Mondale’s version of a CSA
Mondale’s goals for CSA are:
• The establishment of a Council of Social Advisers (CSA), modeled
on the Council of Economic Advisers, to assist the President in the
formulation and direction of national social policy.
• The submission by the President of an annual Social Report
to Congress, prepared by the CSA and comparable to the annual Economic
Report.
• The creation of a Joint Committee of Congress to review the
President’s annual Social Report just as the Joint Economic Committee
exercises oversight in the field of economic policy.
Mondale’s objectives are
• To provide an arm’s-length perspective on the nation’s
social needs and conditions, free from the vested interests and tunnel
vision of federal agencies and pressure groups.
• To bring the expert knowledge and prestige of prominent
social scientists to bear on the task of developing social information
and the tools of social measurement.
• To create a highly visible, public forum for the discussion
of social goals and priorities capable of attracting the attention of
the nation and with direct access to the President.
• To ensure that the analyses and recommendations that emerge
are subject to the review of the legislative branch, the academic
world, and the private sector.
• To develop effective social indicators for identifying
social needs and for illustrating the progress—or lack of it—being made
in meeting them over time.
• To provide a framework for improving the coordination of social programs.
In short, Mondale saw it largely as a social statistical agency.
2. Our version of a CSA
We envision the goal of the CSA as to advise the President on all matters of social policy other than those concerning economics or security. These include policies that strengthen the third sector, especially the country’s hundreds of thousands of voluntary associations and civic bodies; that encourage faith based work within the confines of the 1st Amendment; that promote the fulfillment of civic duty via agencies such as the Peace Corps, Vista, AmeriCorps, the Teacher Corps, and the Citizen Corps; promote understanding and dialogue among social groups that differ in their social backgrounds, identities, and beliefs (including racial, ethnic, and sexual orientation); promote assimilation of new immigrants while assisting them in maintaining their sub-cultural heritages (i.e., promoting diversity within unity); promote community organizations; promote dialogues about our responsibilities to one another, to the nation, and to the inchoate global community.
The CSA will be composed of social scientists who have shown a capacity to develop public policies. It could incorporate several existing bodies such as the White House Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives.
To measure and call attention to the social state of union, the CSA would publish an annual report on various social indicators such as the number of Americans who served as voluntary firefighters, emergency medical technicians, or in other forms of volunteerism; the amount of funds raised for social purposes by various foundations and charities; and the number of hate crimes committed, among others, along the lines of the Mondale proposal.
For more information, contact Amitai Etzioni at etzioni@gwu.edu or (202) 994-8190.
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