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Reshaping Political Ideology in Social Work: a Critical Perspective

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Reshaping Political Ideology in Social Work: a Critical Perspective ORIGINAL ARTICLE THEORETICAL RESEARCH Reshaping political ideology in social work: A critical perspective Filipe Duarte Carleton University, Canada ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: The article contends that social work is politically constructed, that its values, principles and commitments are deeply shaped by ideology through the political dimension at all levels of social work intervention, and that social work needs not only to embrace, but also to reshape its political ideology, discourse and political movements. APPROACH: It is argued that the articulation of social work values and principles are an expression of ideology, and that political ontology of social workers’ lives precedes their epistemological and methodological choices. From this premise, the article claims that socialism informs progressive social work values, and that a materialist analysis can influence our understanding of social problems and social relations within deregulated capitalist societies. CONCLUSIONS: Firstly, this article synthesises the Marxist approach of ideology and its relations with ideology in social work. Secondly, it draws out the key insights about the so-called “radical” or “structural” perspective in social work, and the commitments and challenges of its advocates. Finally, it explores and proposes insights on the political ideology of social work for the 21st century. KEYWORDS: social work; ideology; political ontology; radical social work; socialism In order to appreciate that social work is struggles between human beings as to the politically constructed, one must understand means by which rights and wellbeing were two main propositions. First, social work progressively acknowledged or achieved. values and principles are an historical Throughout the history of the profession, and social cultural expression of ideology. social work has been committed to promote Social work values emerge from inside a human rights, social justice and address political ontology. As McKendrick and the root causes of poverty, oppression and Webb (2014, p. 357) argue, “social work inequalities (Gray & Webb, 2013a). involves articulating an ontology of the political subject.” By political ontology, The political ontology of social workers is I point to the social organisation, which logically antecedent to epistemological and contextualises and specifies an ontology methodological choices. Social work finds of being. The recognition of a political itself inside politically generated social AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND SOCIAL ontology for practice was expressed earlier systems or agencies, organisations, and the WORK 29(2), 34–44. in the development of the profession in the apparatus of the state. This claim is deeply work of Jessica Taft and Virginia Robinson, rooted in the ontological assumptions the founders of the “functional school” at about the nature of the political reality in CORRESPONDENCE TO: the Pennsylvania School of Social Work all societies (Hay, 2006). The recognition Filipe Duarte [email protected] in the 1930s (Lundy, 2011). Second, social of a political ontology in turn undergirds work commitments have their origins in McKendrick and Webb’s (2014) ideas 34 VOLUME 29 • NUMBER 2 • 2017 AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND SOCIAL WORK ORIGINAL ARTICLE THEORETICAL RESEARCH about forms of life which make possible do to make social work? How do they the lineaments of what may count as a just reflect on, talk about, and create abstractions society. By examining the political ontology and generalisations from their practice to of social work, social workers can examine constitute the social work profession as their political ideas and values. Hay (2006, such? How is social work made and what p. 80) explains that, “ontology relates is it made of? What are its constituent parts to being, to what is, to what exists, to and how do social workers make them fit the constituent units of reality; political together? What kinds of values, principles, ontology, by extension, relates to political commitments, theories and approaches being, to what is politically, to what exists govern its functioning and its changes? politically, and to the units that comprise What imaginary or ideology drives social political reality.” workers and their projects? These questions immediately establish a simple analytical Political ontology thereby provides a agenda for social work to assume a political conceptual ground to begin to examine the stance (Duarte, 2016; Gray & Webb, 2013a; ways that ideology shapes social work. An McKendrick & Webb, 2014). However, Hay understanding of the social work values, (2006, p. 81) reminds us that “no political principles, commitments, theories and analysis can proceed in the absence of approaches is an exercise shaped by ideology. assumptions about political ontology”. Such reflection shows the constitutive Among others, Hay (2006, p. 81) suggests features of how social work is politically that one of the ontological issues by which constructed at all levels of its intervention. political analysts formulate assumptions In this sense, Hay (2006, pp. 80–81) explains is related to “the relationship between that “the analyst’s ontological position is, structure and agency, context, and conduct”. then, her answer to the question: What is Thus, social workers make ontological the nature of the social and political reality assumptions in either direct intervention to be investigated? Alternatively, what or the field of education and research, and exists that we might acquire knowledge these assumptions shape their approach of?”. Clearly, it can be argued that the to political analysis and cannot simply political ontology of social work precedes the be justified by an appeal to an evidential epistemological and methodological choices. base (Hay, 2006). McKendrick and Webb Manifestations of ideology are found in the (2014) acknowledge that the aspects of social forms of life, especially the work of social structure and agency justify the need social workers. Arguably, the profession for reshaping political ideology in social was born with a political stance. As Lundy work. Likewise, Gray and Webb (2013a) (2011, p. 52) explains, “social workers emphasise the need for “redefining the such as Jane Addams, Bertha Reynolds, project of the Left in social work in terms Sophonisba Breckinridge, and Mary van of a ‘radicalisation’ of theory and practice” Kleck were leaders in the early human rights (McKendrick & Webb, 2014, p. 358). movements,” and in political and social work activism. However, nowadays that political The epistemology of social work refers to stance remains a notoriously difficult the “philosophy” of its knowledge. It refers construct to capture. to the assumptions that social work makes about the knowledge of reality, its social The detailed elaboration of these arguments norms and problems. What legitimates entails some complexity, but the central its knowledge, theory and practice? The tenet is quite simple. Social workers need answer is epistemology. The point is that to engage in a reflexive examination of the the claims of social workers are shaped ontological roots of their political ideology. by manifestations of a working and How to manoeuvre inside the ontology of applied ideology, and they embody a place, location, and work? What do people preference for certain political explanations VOLUME 29 • NUMBER 2 • 2017 AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND SOCIAL WORK 35 ORIGINAL ARTICLE THEORETICAL RESEARCH (Gray & Webb, 2013a; Hay, 2006; informed by competing or complementary McKendrick & Webb, 2014). As Hay conceptualisations of identity politics. As (2006, p. 83) observed, “epistemological Ferguson (2009a) observed, Gray and Webb’s assumptions are invariably ontologically (2009) article (“The return of the political”) loaded.” This implies that social work must was a welcome contribution to this debate. reflect about the nature of its ontology to As Ferguson does emphasise however, in establish or reshape the significance of its order to assume a political stance, social ideology. work needs “to draw on whatever theoretical resources of wider critique are currently To advance this reflection this article available; social work’s theory base is not, examines the political ideology of social and cannot be, a closed system” (Ferguson, work. Elements of this argument were 2009a, p. 212). explained and illustrated in greater detail in “The return of the political in social work” The discussion proposed here focuses on (Gray & Webb, 2009), “The new politics the political stance of social work and its of social work” (Gray & Webb, 2013b), ideological identity. I regard ideology as McKendrick and Webb’s (2014) article inherent to social work values, principles “Taking a political stance in social work,” and commitments but also to its theories and and extended in Duarte’s (2016) article, approaches. The idea of taking a political “(Building) a political agenda for social stance requires reshaping social work work”. ideology, a formal, ideologically derived conceptual framework which constitutes and Thus, the debate offered by this article lies reflects social work values, principles and not only in whether social work is a product commitments, its theories and approaches of what can be termed as left-wing ideology (Lundy, 2011). The potential of reshaping but where on that spectrum the readership and assuming a clear political ideology for of the article perceives social work as being social work constitutes the commitment formed. to an active participation of social
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