Social Policies, Development Model and Subjectivity of Vulnerable Groups in Chile

Abstract

This article analyzes the meanings that vulnerable individuals build on State and society, in situations of risk and economic uncertainty. Based in two studies focused on qualitative analysis of interviews with vulnerable families, this paper shows the presence of senses linked to the logic of liberalization of public policies and processes of individualization in contemporary Chile. In the context of the current neoliberal model, there is predominance of a sense of individual and family management and addressing risks, to the detriment of the community and the State as institutional platforms to resolve problems. In fact, the interviews feel distrust and discontent about these two spheres of society. This issue becomes particularly problematic, within the framework of increased public and private efforts to deal with the poverty and vulnerability. Finally, this paper tries to show that the preeminence of senses as own merit and individual effort are always go with moral feelings that structure the different discourses.