Social work and a love of humanity

Abstract

The idea of a ‘love of humanity’, though largely absent from social work literature, is a potent concept for challenging the dominant discourses of individual material wealth, greed and power. It can be associated with the postmodern agenda of emancipation from oppressive discourses of professional ‘expertise’. Love, or a ‘love of humanity’, has the same intent as formulations of social work grounded in postmodern critical theory, but it uses a different language. It uses a language of lived experience and personal commitment - a language that appeals to our hearts -a language passionate about, and incorporating, human rights and social justice.     

A comment on ‘Reconstructing and re-conceptualising social work in the emerging milieu’

Abstract

The article by McDonald and Jones raises some very important issues for Australian social work, and identifies some of the key decisions that social workers in Australia will be required to make if their practice is to maintain some degree of relevance in the changing context of the early twenty-first century.     

Voices from the bottom

Despite many years of poverty eradication programs in numerous countries, 25% of the world's population continues to live in poverty. In the light of this global crisis, it is clear that anti-poverty strategies have not been as successful as they should have been. This paper argues that continuing poverty may be related in part to the fact that policies developed to alleviate the problem are mainly based on monetary definitions developed by ‘experts’, rather than by the poor themselves. Thus this paper will demonstrate that expert definitions invariably neglect the more qualitative aspects and experiences of poverty. In contrast, it is argued here that the poor are the ‘real’ poverty experts and their voices should be included in the definition of poverty and the formulation of solutions. While there is increasing recognition of this latter approach in developing nations, often taking a human needs perspective, this response is only in its infancy in Australia. After a discussion of the conceptualisation of human needs, this paper reports on a small pilot study that presents the voices of 10 disadvantaged men, identifying what poverty is for them in Melbourne     

The Determination of Social Need—A Model of Need Statements in Social Administration

It is suggested that much of the confusion around the use of the concept of social need in social administration is that need has been conceptualized primarily within a positivist paradigm, with the implication that it is objectively measurable. An alternative model is proposed, which is a model of need statements rather than need per se, so that the focus of study is the definition of need and the person or group making that judgment. This model incorporates the experience of the need definer, and the data base on which the need judgment is made.     

Local and global practice: Relocating social work as a human rights profession in the new global order

Globalization, as currently understood, is confined to an economic world view, and does not include notions of global citizenship, social priorities and human rights. Yet social workers, because of the value base of the social work profession, must be concerned with these issues, and work towards a form of 'living in one world' that locates human values as paramount. One of the reactions to globalization has been an increase in localization, and social workers are now required to work at both global and local levels, and to relate the two. This is explored in relation to social work knowledge, values and skills, with particular reference to using a human rights framework for social work theory and practice. In a globalized world, all aspects of social work are affected by global issues, and all social problems have a global dimension. Hence international social work can no longer be a marginalized specialization within the social work profession, but must be part of the day-to-day practice of all social workers, if social work is to remain relevant to the pursuit of human rights and social justice. Die gegenärtigen Auffassungen von Globalisierung sind in einer ökonomischen Perspektive befangen und entbehren jeder Vorstellung von globaler Bürgerschaft, sozialen prioritäten und Menschenrechten. Aufgrund ihrer Wertebasis als soziale Profession kommt es f&ür Sozialarbeiterinnen und Sozialarbeiter darauf an, sich mit diesen Sachverhalten auseinanderzusetzen und auf eine Form des Zusammenslebens in einer Welt hinzuarbeiten, in der humane Werte an allererster Stelle stehen. Als eine Reaktionsweise auf die Globalisierung bildete sich eine verstärkte 'Lokalisierung' heraus. Dies bedeutet für die Sozialarbeiterinnen und Sozialarbeiter, daß sie nun auf beiden Ebenen arbeiten und diese zugleich miteinander verbinden müssen. Diese Aufgabe wird hier thematisiert im Hinblick auf das Wissen, auf die Werte und die Qualifikationen in der Sozialarbeit, und zwar unter besonderer Berürcksichtigung eines auf die Menschenrechte bezogenen Rahmenkonzepts für die Theorie und Praxis der Sozialen Arbeit. In einer globalisierten Welt sind alle Aspekte Sozialer Arbeit von globalen Entwicklungen betroffen, und umgekehrt haben alle sozialen Probleme eine globale Dimension. Wenn Soziale Arbeit Weiterhin eine relevante Rolle bei der Verwirklichung von sozialer Gerechtigkeit und den Menschenrechten zukommen soll, dann kann die internationale Dimension der Sozialarbeit nicht bloß eine marginale Specialisierung innerhalb der Profession bleiben, sondern muß zu einem integralen Bestandteil der tagtäglichen Praxis aller Sozialarbeiterinnen und Sozialarbeiter werden. La globalización tal como la entendemos actualmente, está confinada a un punto de vista economómico, y no incluye nociones de ciudadania global, prioridades sociales y derechos humanos. Pero los trabajadores sociales, debido a la base de valores existentes en la profesión de trabajo social, deben estar preocupados con estos temas, y trabajar hacia una forma de 'vivir en un mundo' que sitße los valores humanos en el ámbito de gran importancia que se merecen. Una de las reacciones a la globalización ha sido el aumento de la localización, y a los trabajadores sociales actualmente se les requiere la capacidad de trabajar en ambos niveles, global y local, y de relacionarlos. Exploramos estos aspectos en relación con el conocimiento en trabajo social, valores y destrezas, haciendo particular referencia a la capacidad de uso de un marco de derechos humanos como ase para la teoria y práctica del trabajo social. En un mundo globalizado todos los aspectos de trabajo social quedan afectados por temas globales, y todos los problemas sociales tienen una dimensión global. Por tanto, el trabajo social internacional no puede continuar siendo una especialidad marginal en la profesión, sino que debe formar parte de la práctica diaria de todos los trabajadores sociales si queremos que el trabajo social continße siendo relevante en la bßsqueda de los derechos humanos y justicia social.