Social work and macro-economic neoliberalism: beyond the social justice rhetoric

Abstract

Macro-economic policy shapes and structures social welfare policy, services, and their implementation. As a result, the commoditisation of social welfare services and the use of markets as well as private sector management philosophies and tools have colonised and fashioned the design, provision and implementation of social welfare policy and structures. The impact has been far reaching, from limiting social welfare responses of elected democratic government to shaping the profession in a range of intended and unintended directions. Written from a UK perspective, this paper proposes a discussion of the impact of macro-economic neoliberal policies in the field of social welfare and explores the implications for social work practice. The paper also promotes a debate within the profession regarding the importance of macro-economic analysis and possible responses, as well as suggesting a way forward within European and, more broadly, international practice contexts.

Les politiques macroéconomiques orientent et structurent les politiques sociales, le développement de services et leur implémentation. Elles mercantilisent les services sociaux en utilisant les principes du marché ainsi que les outils et philosophies du secteur privé, ce qui a pour effet de coloniser et de façonner le développement, la provision et l'implémentation des politiques sociales et de ses structures organisationnelles. Les politiques macroéconomiques. ont des répercussions importantes sur l'organisation des services sociaux, de l'établissement de limites aux réponses qu'offrent les élus démocratiques en lien avec les systèmes de protection, aux orientations, intentées ou non, de la profession. Rédigé à partir d'un point de vue britannique, cet article propose une analyse de l¹impact des politiques macro-économiques néolibérales sur les politiques sociales et les services et explore les implications pour la pratique du travail social. L'article encourage également un débat au sein de la profession, en lien avec l'importance d'engager avec les analyses macroéconomiques et de ses réponses possibles, suggérant ainsi des pistes de solutions pour la pratique du travail social en Europe et à l'international.

Keywords:

• neoliberalism
• ordoliberalism
• international social work
• social welfare policy
• professionalism
• democracy
• social movements

Mots clés:

• Neolibéralisme
• Ordolibéralisme
• Travail social International
• Politiques sociales
• Professionnalisation
• Démocratie
• Mouvement sociaux et action sociale

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Gary Spolander is Principal Lecturer in Leadership and Management (Social Care and Health) at Coventry University, UK.

Lambert Engelbrecht is an Associated Professor in Social Work at the Department of Social Work, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.

Annie Pullen Sansfaçon is Associate Professor at the University of Montreal's School of Social Work, Canada. Her work on focuses on the development of anti-oppressive theories, approaches and methodologies to promote ethical and emancipatory practice in social work.

Notes

1. The social chapter is attached to the Maastricht Treaty highlighting broad social policy objectives to improve living and working conditions and enables the Commission to improve social legislation (Williams, 1993).

2. ‘Anti-dumping’ measures often involve imposing higher import tariffs on certain imported goods to support local producers. However, this is normally only a short-term measure as for most countries this breaches ‘free trade rules' as enforced by the WTO.

3. The ‘Tobin Tax’ is a proposed tax to be imposed on foreign exchange transactions with the aim of impacting on short-term currency speculation (Pignal, 2011).