Social work and neoliberalism: the Trondheim papers

Confronting Historical White Supremacy in Social Work Education and Practice

“…The field of social work is informed by the values of neoliberalism: a system of social governance where the ideals and needs of capitalism have been embraced by the state which has largely withdrawn from regulatory practices controlling companies, corporations, and entrepreneurs in the United States and globally (Marthinsen et al, 2019;Morley et al, 2017;Rogowski, 2018;Todorova, 2019). Much like a company or a factory, capitalist notions of cost, accounting, and profit have come to inform how states and local governments plan and deliver welfare services to their citizens.…”

“…Social work education is neglectful of the role White Supremacy plays in the past, present, and future by not adequately acknowledging the profession's responsibility in disrupting racist and oppressive systems. In fact, social work education is informed by the values of neoliberalism: a system of social governance where the ideals and needs of capitalism have been embraced by the state which has largely withdrawn from regulatory practices controlling companies, corporations, and entrepreneurs in the United States and globally (hooks, 2014;Marthinsen et al, 2019;Morley et al, 2017). Examples of neoliberal values in social work include but are not limited to the "increased privatization of services, the use of the voluntary or third sector, and social workers being controlled by managers whose emphasis is on completing bureaucracy speedily to meet targets" (Rogowski, 2018, p. 73).…”

Trabajo interprofesional en Chile Impactos de la racionalidad neoliberal y los horizontes de la justicia social

“…Ya no podemos pensar el control de manera unidireccional (donde quien interviene "controla" a quien es intervenido/a). Hoy en día, la racionalidad neoliberal impacta, entre miles de otros dominios, en la intervención social, en el sentido más amplio y multifocal del término, imponiendo no solo patrones de comportamiento a los usuarios de los programas sociales, sino también a los profesionales que ejecutan la intervención (Marthinsen, Juberg, Skjefstad y Garrett, 2019). En otras palabras, quienes hacen intervención social están altamente intervenidos por la lógica de su propia intervención.…”