CAPITALISM, CRISIS AND PARADIGMSChapter 1

The New Structural Social Work

Bob Mullaly / Third Edition

KEYNESIAN CAPITALISM

Welfare capitalism

A belief that a welfare state could exist within capitalism

Infinite economic growth manifest by the production and consumption of more and more products, which in turn would be followed by more and more jobs, increased profits, higher wages, and more government revenue for an ever expanding welfare-state

THE CRASH OF KEYNESIAN CAPITALISM

1973: worldwide recession, unstable economic growth, inflation

Raise taxes (as some European countries did) or reduce government spending

1984 Canadian Conservative government reduced expenditures

Global economy now takes precedence over meeting human and social needs

Most vulnerable were women, children, immigrants, visible minorities, and poor people

GLOBALIZATION THESIS

Defined as: an economic process involving cross-border transactions in goods and services, international capital flows, and the rapid spread of technology

Expresses, promotes and legitimates a neo-conservative ideology

Organizations set up to regulate international trade & other global forces: World Trade Organization

World Bank

International Monetary Fund

G-8 Leaders

Welfare state notions such as universality, full employment and equality are seen as a hindrance to survival

3 billionaires have assets greater tan the gross national product of the world’s least developed nation and their 600 million inhabitants

Sub-Saharan Africa currently pays $337 million per day in debt payments

Regan administration: budgetary cuts on social expenditures in USA. Unemployment, homelessness, infant mortality, hunger, etc increased

Neo-Conservative Result

PRESENT DAY WELFARE STATE - CATERS TO THE RICH

Fiscal welfare Serves the rich Operates through the income tax

system Exemptions, deductions, deferrals,

allowances, write-offs, reduced taxation

Occupational welfare Fringe benefits such as health

benefits, pensions, interest-free loans, expense accounts, company cars

Based on position at work and not on need

Social Welfare Mainly to low-income and other

vulnerable populations Orientated to meeting basic needs

SOCIAL WORK IN CRISIS

Cuts to social expenditures

Decreased funding of programs

Social service work is not highly valued

Provide “more with less”

Job dissatisfaction, stress, burnout, low morale, vicarious trauma

Difficulty maintaining work-life balance

Role conflict – use of measurement tools to deny access to services

Lack of opportunity to develop quality working relationships with service users

Competing time demands

Feelings of isolation, not being supported, vulnerability

Right-wing Capitalism Result

ANTI-GLOBALIZATION MOVEMENT Demonstrations

China and India – view economic development as the means to deal with social problems such as unemployment, poverty, homelessness

Latin America opts out – no longer believes in globalization

Canada has had 8 successive surplus budgets

Expected 11.3 billion surplus by 2010-11

PARADIGM

A cognitive framework from which a discipline or profession views the world and its place in it

Helps to organize: Social thought Social work analysis theory

IDEOLOGY Definition: a closely

organized system of beliefs, values, and ideas forming the basis of a social, economic, or political philosophy or program.

Conventional terms: Left, centre, right

Ideology influences : Behavior Social organization Social movements

LEFT-RIGHT CONTINUUM (IDEOLOGY)

Greens NDP Liberals Conservatives

Left Centre Right

Radical Liberal Conservative Reactionary

THE SOCIAL WORK VISION: A PROGRESSIVE VIEWChapter 2

The New Structural Social Work

CONVENTIONAL PERSPECTIVES

Poor are makers of their own misfortune

All decisions regarding this system were made by the ‘right’ people in the community (i.e. mainly white, middle-class-businessmen)

Focus was to reform the person

Poor are victims of an unjust social order that discriminates against large numbers of people so that a few might benefit (capitalist society caused poverty)

Established houses in slum areas

Worked with people to do something about slum housing, crime, poverty, sweatshop work conditions, etc

Focus was to reform society

Charity Organization Society Movement

Settlement House Movement

MODERN SOCIAL WORK

Society is viewed as comprising social institutions that serve the individual as long as s/he makes full use of available opportunities for personal success

Focus on the individual/s as both source of and the solutions for problems

Do not believe that our present social institutions are capable of adequately meeting human need

Goal is the elimination of oppression and inequality

Focus on helping the individual cope with, fit into, and/or adjust to society

Conventional viewProgressive / Critical view

APPROACHES TO PRACTICE

Personal change Psychodynamic Behavioral Client-centred Psychosocial Clinical Family therapists Casework General systems theory Ecosystems Life model Problem-solving Strengths perspective

Feminist social work Marxist Radical Structural Anti-racist Anti-oppressive Critical postmodern Post-colonial Indigenous (decolonization) Narrative therapy Just therapy

Recognizes that fundamental social change cannot occur without fundamental personal change also occurring

Conventional view Progressive view

SOCIAL WORK BELIEF People have a right to

develop fully and freely their inherent human potential and to live productive and satisfying lives free from domination and exploitation by others

What type of society best promotes the values, ideals, principles, and beliefs espoused by the social work profession?

What is the vision that social work should pursue?

THE VISION

The vision of the profession of Social Work is to help create and contribute to a world where there are no great inequalities of wealth or income, where economic and political power is more evenly distributed, where human need is the central value of distribution of society’s resources, where diversity of culture is celebrated, where people have greater control over their own lives, and where all persons are afforded maximum opportunity to enrich their physical, spiritual, psychological, and intellectual well- being

The client is no longer the primary professional obligation Client as priority not primary

obligation

A limited view of social justice Compensate victims instead of

changing systems

The fallacy of equal opportunity or universal impartiality Assumes people start from the

same place

Acknowledgement of diversity Acknowledge diversity as opposed

to celebrate and promote

Limited self-determination Client records

We regard as our primary obligation to be the welfare of all humankind…

We understand the contradictions inherent in delivering social work services in a capitalist society. We know that the state can be both oppressive and supportive

We do not see financial profit as the primary motive in life. Thus, we do not uphold the tenets of global capitalism nor do we value paid work over that which is unpaid

We do not see ourselves as sitting outside of society, or as liberators of the ‘needy’ or the ‘downtrodden’. Rather, we try to use the benefits derived from our professional status to work against the exploitation of individuals and groups

Pg54, Box 2.3

2005 CASW code of ethics

Progressive Social Workers code of ethics