Loïc Wacquant, the concept of the ‘centaur state' and social work: the case of the Czech Republic

ABSTRACT

The implementation of social work is strongly influenced by the contexts in which it operates. In the last thirty to forty years, the key context has been the neoliberalisation of society. The aim of this article is to reflect upon the influence of neoliberalism on the controlling role of social work using Loïc Wacquant’s concept of the centaur state. The text attempts to reveal the impacts of the cultural, economic and social policy of the neoliberal state on the execution of social work from the point of view of European and non-European authors, with an emphasis on the situation in the Czech Republic. The results of this reflection suggest that all three of these sets of policies have shifted the emphasis in social work from aid to control, a development which may lead to a fundamental change in the social work profession in the future.

ABSTRAKT

Realizace sociální práce je silně ovlivňována kontexty, ve kterých působí. V posledních třiceti až čtyřiceti letech lze za klíčový kontext označit neoliberalizaci společnosti. Cílem předkládané stati je reflektovat vliv neoliberalismu na kontrolní roli sociální práce s využitím konceptu ‘kentauřího státu’ Loïca Wacquanta. V textu jsou reflektovány dopady kulturní, ekonomické a sociální politiky neoliberálního státu na realizaci sociální práce z hlediska evropských i mimoevropských autorů a s akcentem na situaci v České republice. Provedená reflexe naznačuje, že všechny tři politiky posouvají v sociální práci důraz od pomoci ke kontrole, což může vést do budoucna k zásadní proměně profese sociální práce.

KEYWORDS:

• Social work
• neoliberalism
• control
• Loïc Wacquant

KLÍČOVÁ SLOVA:

• sociální práce
• neoliberalismus
• kontrola
• Loïc Wacquant

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Oppression can be characterized as a systematic, i.e. clearly not accidental or occasional (Mullaly, 2007), as well as a negative, humiliating, cruel and unjust exercise of power in society (Thompson, 2010) through which certain groups are maltreated and excluded from decision-making and access to resources which are accessible to power-dominating groups (Dominelli, 2002; Fraser & Honneth, 2003).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Radka Janebová

Mgr. Radka Janebová PhD is an assistant professor at the Institute of Social Work, Philosophical Faculty, University of Hradec Králové, Czech Republic. Her research interests include care and control in social work, critical social work and contexts of social work practice. She also works as a social worker in the field of the social and legal protection of children.