Social Work, Social Justice, and the Legacy of Imperialism

Introduction: Social Work's Lost Vision

The objective of this paper is to trace and critically evaluate the relationship of social work to social justice through the lens of the profession's historical record of inclusion or exclusion of oppressed and marginalized groups. This analysis is grounded in a contemporary social work practice issue and draws on scholarship spanning political theory, history, and professional ethics.

Understanding social work in the United States requires first understanding the ideological foundations upon which American institutions were built. Ruth G. Dean, in a speech on social work, observed: "Social work, it seems, is now content spending more time doing paperwork than working with people. We talk and write in the professional patois of pathology rather than with words that worry life and insight into dreams and aspirations and hope. We now too often speak the vapid language of objective science rather than in narratives that sing with the heart and soul of life and imagination. We seem to have lost our vision of great causes, of what is possible and worthwhile and worth struggling for, and of what could be if only we believed." (Dean, 2004, p. 4)

Dean further noted that "the dominance of ideas of social control and the prevalence of the business ethic are creating dramatic changes in the practice of clinical social work — a profession that developed within an ethos of social welfare. Third party payers control the terms of service, requiring social workers to offer very brief interventions and limited possibilities to clients." (Dean, 2004) This problem is not a new one in the field of social work, and its roots reach deep into the political and cultural history of the United States.

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