Politics for social workers: a practical guide to effecting change

Abstract

pendent self, mind-body dualism, and culture as separate from biology are unfamiliar to many philosophies, and are rooted in Christian and liberal humanist beliefs. There is also a serious question about the relationship between social work and the state, however that is structured. Human rights may be defined differently by different philosophies, and social workers need to decide whether they are prepared to be agents of social control. The question is not whether Westernstyle social workers can work in state-controlled systems: it is whether social harmony can be achieved by state action, or whether it arises from action within natural communities. Henrickson gives enough detail of Confucian and Buddhist approaches to make one wish that he had started at this point, but that is ungenerous. One might hope that he would now go on himself to explore these and other approaches in proper detail. Some of his references provide signposts for those who wish to do the work themselves. He cites the Global Social Work Statement of Ethical Principles, of 2018, as a valuable foundation for future work, but this can only be effective if there is a serious attempt by social workers everywhere, to recognise how the profession is dominated by Western culture. This seems to be the real challenge of the book. The long argument about the origins of western social work does not open one’s eyes to the alternatives. Henrickson does eventually recognise that there are historical forms of social aid in other cultures, but suggests that these are social care, rather than professional social work. This needs elaboration.