35 Progressives in the early decades of the twentieth century wanted social workers to do for young women receiving public assistance what a doting parent might do for a struggling adult child—help them up and on their way.36 But since the 1960s, many progressives have come to see that maternalism as a patronizing burden on families already mired in poverty. As a result, like in other realms, reformers became more inclined to manacle the octopus.
Why Nothing Works: Who...
