Teoria i praktyka polityki społecznej

The article analyses both theory and practice of social policy. The author presents social policy as an element of state, politics, administration, and governing; it is also a subject of axiological discussions through various perspectives of political philosophy. From an academic perspective, social policy was defined by some basic terms of the main social science disciplines. This perspective partly concentrates on explaining history of social policy: its origins, growth, and limitations. There are many theories explaining why there are differences among countries. In the last part of the article the author looks at social policy as a practice.