Wilding & George (1975): 373
"Social values are thus simultaneously a dependent and an independent variable. Whether one sees social values as a key element in the preservation of social order and social stability, as a major force for conservatism and traditionalism, or as a major element in patterns of domination and exploitation, social values are clearly an important independent influence in society. As such, they are also an important factor in the development and administration of social policy, for social policy is the product of the dominant value system, not, as some would imply, of some autonomous humanitarian ethic."
e.g. "individualism has a profound effect on the policies adopted to deal with the problems, in part because of individualistic diagnosis, in part too because of general attitudes. Individualism affects policies in two ways in particular, in the stress on policies of self-support and on the provision of services and benefits at a minimum level." (p.381)
"In real life, these and other social values act on and interact with each other and they resist and reinforce social, political, economic and other factors. " (p.390)