Reshaping political ideology in social work: A critical perspective

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:The article contends that social work is politically constructed, that its values, principles and commitments are deeply shaped by ideology through the political dimension at all levels of social work intervention, and that social work needs not only to embrace, but also to reshape its political ideology, discourse and political movements. APPROACH:It is argued that the articulation of social work values and principles are an expression of ideology, and that political ontology of social workers' lives precedes their epistemological and methodological choices. From this premise, the article claims that socialism informs progressive social work values, and that a materialist analysis can influence our understanding of social problems and social relations within deregulated capitalist societies. CONCLUSIONS:Firstly, this article synthesises the Marxist approach of ideology and its relations with ideology in social work. Secondly, it draws out the key insights about the so-called "radical" or "structural" perspective in social work, and the commitments and challenges of its advocates. Finally, it explores and proposes insights on the political ideology of social work for the 21st century. KEYWORDS

Si̇yaset Ve Sosyal Çalişma İli̇şki̇si̇ni̇ Türki̇ye İçi̇n Düşünmek

“…Bu gerçeğe rağmen, meslek siyaset ile bir ilişki içindedir. Bu ilişkinin, mesleğin odağında insan hakları, sosyal adaletin gereklerinin yerine getirilmesi, baskı ve eşitsizlikle mücadelenin bulunması ilkelerinden kaynaklandığı (Duarte, 2017) Siyasi sosyal çalışmanın Amerika Birleşik Devletleri'nde başladığını varsayarak; "uzlaşma, yönetim, ve siyaset karşıtı" boyutlarında açıklanan siyaset-sosyal çalışma ilişkisini, mesleğin bu ülkedeki tarihçesine bakarak görmek mümkündür. ABD'de sosyal çalışma tarihi, mesleğin ortaya çıkışı olarak kabul edilen bir dizi profesyonel uygulamalara dayandırılmaktadır.…”

Social work and social justice: The relationship between fitness to practise and criminal convictions for non-violent activism

“…Social workers engaging in macro practice, which involves a push for social change, challenges to social inequalities and other social justice action (Austin, Anthony, Knee, & Mathias, 2016), can create change for social workers in micro practice and for ngā kiritaki (McBeath, 2016;Reisch, 2016;Rothman & Mizrahi, 2014). There is a strong belief across the social work profession that social workers have a responsibility to fight for social justice and social change, at both macro and micro levels (Clark, 2006;Duarte, 2017;Grodofsky & Makaros, 2016;Hamilton & Fauri, 2001;Morgaine, 2014;Payne, 2002;Rothman & Mizrahi, 2014;Thompson, 2002). Standing up for social justice is more than rhetoric or an idealistic view of what social workers should aim to achieve.…”

The Politics of Austerity and Social Citizenship Rights: A Case Study of the Impact of the 2008 Financial Crisis on the Welfare State in Portugal

“…In addition, this research will add an important contribution to structural and radical social work in scholarly literature, as it offers a detailed account of the process and degree of welfare retrenchment under the paradigm of austerity following the 2008 financial crisis. Structural and radical social work approaches place an emphasis on historical, economic, social, political and legislative contexts that influence social and material conditions, the formulation of laws, the allocation of funding towards the welfare state, and the restriction of access to social citizenships rights (Duarte, 2017). Since the 2008 financial crisis, I argue that ordinary citizens in modern capitalist economies have been living in a highly unequal world, meaning that there are many more people finding themselves in lower income brackets or living in far poorer conditions as a result of the politics of austerity that unfolded since the 2008 financial crisis.…”

“…Since the 2008 financial crisis, I argue that ordinary citizens in modern capitalist economies have been living in a highly unequal world, meaning that there are many more people finding themselves in lower income brackets or living in far poorer conditions as a result of the politics of austerity that unfolded since the 2008 financial crisis. Therefore, structural social work offers the lens and tools to examine closely the inequalities and the retrenchment of the welfare state that emerged under the paradigm of austerity (Duarte, 2017).…”

“…A structural approach to social work was chosen because it provides a methodologicaltheoretical approach to understanding the dynamics of capitalism and to bring to light the contradictions that underpin the process of retrenchment of welfare capitalism in modern market societies, under the paradigm of austerity following the 2008 financial crisis (Duarte, 2017).…”