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The Routledge Handbook of Critical

Stephen A. Webb

Marxist social work

Publication details https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781351264402-3 Tom Vickers Published online on: 30 Jan 2019

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The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The publisher shall not be liable for an loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 05:35 26 Sep 2021; For: 9781351264402, chapter3, 10.4324/9781351264402-3 24 tionship totheclassstruggleand tothestate. method, oftenreferredtoas‘dialectical materialism’,beforeapplyingittosocialworkers’ rela containing theoryandpractice indialecticalunity,or‘praxis’.ThissectionoutlinestheMarxist This definition,fromaclassic BritishRSWtext,emphasisesMarxism’sunfinishedcharacter, Foundations ofMarxistsocialwork Vickers (2015). The chapterisinformedbyareviewofhistoricalandcontemporary literature,buildingon work withinthevaryingcontextsofcapitaliststates,popular movements,andsocialiststates. key featuresofMarxismasitrelatestosocialworkandoffersexamplesMarxist literature isahugetask,beyondthescopeofthischapter.Insteadchapteroutlinessome relevance fortheinternationalsocialworkcommunity”(p.750).Fillinggapsin literature of “information about Cuban social work, the changes it has undergone, or its example, Strug(2006)observesthealmosttotalabsenceininternationalsocialwork Social Work’(RSW)tradition,andtheexperienceofsocialistcountriesisneglected.For The English-languageliteratureonMarxistsocialworkismostlylimitedtothe‘Radical thereby sustainingit.Thisisfurthercomplicatedbydisputesoverwhat‘’means. but social work has often been involved in managing the contradictions of capitalism and and/or diametrically opposed, because both share a concern with the ‘social question’, (2013) suggeststhatsocialworkandMarxismmightbeconsideredintrinsicallyconnected The relationshipofMarxismtosocialworkishighlycontestedandcontradictory.Tavares Introduction confronts capitalismwithanalternativemodelofasocialorder. divergent interpretations Marxism ismanythings An internationalandhistoricalperspective ...... Marxism isnotsimplyatheory:itpoliticalpracticewhich in astateoffluxanddevelopment,issubjecttohighly Marxist socialwork (Corrigan andLeonard,1978:xiii–xiv) Tom Vickers 3 - 1

Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 05:35 26 Sep 2021; For: 9781351264402, chapter3, 10.4324/9781351264402-3 more complex understanding of the living whole. Throughout this process, sight must be main phenomena to a ‘number of determinant, abstract, general relations’ and from there back to a The Marxist analytic method involves an iterative movement from holistic and concrete living Dialectical materialism against thetendencyforpractice to‘regressinsearchoftheapplied,effective,presenting Mota (2013)makessimilarpoints regardingcontemporarysocialworkinBrazil,andwarns to impartialityanduniversalhumanrights.AsGalper(1980)says inanotherclassicRSWtext: Marxism uncoversthepoliticalcharacterofsocialwork,which hasoftenbeenobscuredbyclaims Social workersintheclassstruggle Human agencyplaysavitalrolebutdoesnotoperateinvacuum. fight it out’ (Marx,1859/1971: 21), and which interact dialectically withthe material base. philosophic –inshort,ideologicalformswhichmenbecomeconsciousofthisconflictand that determinesthedevelopmentofhistory,butalso‘thelegal,political,religious,artisticor ideas influencethefuturedevelopmentofmaterialconditions.Itisnotpurelylevel tive conditions. by developinganunderstandingofthewaysubjectiveactionsareshapedandlimitedobjec gration status,countryoforiginandclass(Vickers,2012).Suchunderstandingsenhanceagency Today wemustaddtothisdifferentialtreatmentbythestatebasedonacombinationofimmi these interactwithconditionsarisingfromrelationsofproductionwithinBritain(129–132). viewing theminthecontextofrelationsproductiontheircountryorigin,andhow and Leonard(1978)explorethewaymigrantfamilieswithinBritaincanbebetterunderstoodby Engels, 1845/1991:48–52).Inoneexampleoftheapplicationthistosocialwork,Corrigan of thisactivityisorganisedsocially,dependingonthemeansproductionavailable(Marxand further needs,thatpeopleacttoreproducenotonlythemselvesbutalsotheirspecies,andall people mustproduceinordertosatisfytheirneeds,thatthesatisfactionoftheseneedsleads duction. ThecentralpremisesofMarxism,derivedfromempiricalandhistoricalstudy,arethat ence is shaped in turn by social structures, in particular the processes ofproduction and repro (presented mostexplicitlyinMarx,1857/1973;1859/1971;MarxandEngels,1845/1991). (Marx, 1857/1973:100–102). Forthe most part this method is implicit in Marx’s own writing mation ofconcretephenomenathroughtheactionpre-existingandindependentabstractions tained oftheprimacywhole,avoidingconfusinganalyticprocesswithactualfor Dialectical materialismisdistinguishedfromcrudebyitsacknowledgementthat Marxism directsattentiontothewayconsciousnessisshapedbyexperience,andhowexperi connection ofthe Everything is introduce thepoliticsofresistance andchange. into anapoliticalsituation.Ratherwemeantochallengethe politicsofcomplianceandto ends itserves,however,areconservativeones.Radicalsdo not seektointroducepolitics conventional practiceis fully political, whether or not its politicsare acknowledged. The . . . mediated, boundintoOne,connectedbytransitions[ina]-governed whole (process) oftheworld. (Lenin, 1895–1916/1972:103,emphasisintheoriginal) Marxist socialwork (p. 10–11) 25 ------Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 05:35 26 Sep 2021; For: 9781351264402, chapter3, 10.4324/9781351264402-3 Marxism isnottheonlyschoolofthoughtthatfocusesonclass,butLavaletteandFerguson with ‘socialmacro-processes’,andlimitingpracticetomaintainingthestatusquo(p.31). itself asameanstopreparefor“complexwork”’,therebylosingitscapacityengagecritically Tom Vickers 26 declaring their Marxism. OtherMarxist-informed practiceissimplynever written about,and poses tothecapitaliststatemeans socialworkersmayjeopardisetheiremploymentbyopenly Marxist socialworkundercapitalism isnotalwaysrecognisedassuchbecausethethreatMarxism Marxist approachestosocial workundercapitalism which socialworkoperates. ing theclasscharacterofaspecificstateasgreatimportance increatingtheconditionsunder or ‘deformed workers’’ states (Galper, 1980: 29–39). Where Marxists tend to agree, is in view state, withdifferentMarxistsdefiningthesamestatesas‘socialist’, ‘statecapitalist’,‘degenerate’ a classlesssociety.Thereisfurtherdivisionwithinthelatter astowhatconstitutesasocialist who argueastateofspecialkindisneeded,socialiststate, in ordertofacilitateatransition as ‘libertarian’or‘autonomous’Marxists,whorejecttheneed foranykindofstate,andthose whether arevolutionisnecessary. regarding whetheratransitiontosocialismispossiblewhilethe capitaliststateremainsintact,or Edinburgh WeekendReturnGroup[LEWRG],1980:52–53). Differencesfollowfromthis tries, and a ‘bad’ side, including defence, law and order, and aid to private industry (London side ofthecapitaliststate,includingsocialservices,,educationandnationalisedindus different sectionsofthestate.Thelatterargumentsometimesdifferentiatesbetweena‘good’ over by competing interest groups, or that it is not coherent, with different interests served by ‘relative autonomy’fromcapitalistpressures,andisneutralwithregardtoclass,befought Leninist conceptionofthestatetypicallyconcernargumentsthatcapitalisteitherenjoys tionship betweenconsentandcoercioninthemoderncapitaliststate.Disagreementswith Marxist theoristofthestateisGramsci(1929–1935/1982),whoanalysesdialecticalrela the politicallydominantclasswithinagivengeographicalterritory(p.8–14).Anotherimportant who, through the exercise of a state apparatus specifically tailored toitsneeds,maintains itself as view thestateemergesas a set of institutionsrepresentingtheeconomicallydominantclass, a meansofholdingincheckirreconcilableantagonismsorder to stabilise the system.Inthis Lenin (1917/1972)definesthestateasaninstitutionemerginginmidstofclassstruggle vary, includingitscapacityforreform,andifitmustbeabolishedthenwhatshouldreplaceit? social workersitisthereforedecisive(BaileyandBrake,1975:2).Marxistsanalysesofthestate The stateisofcrucialsignificance,bothfortheclassstruggleandsocialwork,Marxist Marxist analysesofthestate part ofaholisticanalysis. duction, oppressionbasedonfactorssuchasgender,‘race’,anddisabilitycanbeintegrated change. Bydefiningclassasfundamentallyrootedinpeoples’relationshiptothemeansofpro connections betweendifferentsectionsofsocietywhohaveasharedinterestinstrugglingfor changes thatmightbeneededtomoreeffectivelyaddresssocialproblemsandbyidentifying simply domination(p.128–129).Thiscaninformpractice,bypointingtothekindofstructural means ofproduction,asopposedtosimplyindistribution,andexploitation, (2011) distinguishMarxistapproachesbytheirattentiontoinequalitiesinownershipofthe For Marxists,thenecessarilypoliticalnatureofsocialworkisrootedinclassstruggle. Among revolutionaryMarxists,thereisadivergencebetween thosewhodefinethemselves - - - - Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 05:35 26 Sep 2021; For: 9781351264402, chapter3, 10.4324/9781351264402-3 “offering palliatives to assuage the miseries of and racism”, social workers would do lit do “offering palliativestoassuagethemiseriesofpovertyandracism”,socialworkerswould Marxists suchasBerthaReynolds,who‘warnedthatunlessNewDealpoliciesmovedbeyond (2001) traceitshistoryfurtherback,throughthe1930sRankandFileMovementledby since atleastthe1970s(AblettandMorley,2016).InUnitedStates,ReischAndrews within ‘RadicalSocialWork’(RSW),whichhasexistedinmostadvancedcapitalistcountries avoid explicitlydiscussingMarxistinfluences. work academicsoftenhavegreaterfreedomthanpractitioners,therehasstillbeenatendencyto this isparticularlylikelywhenpracticeoccurswithinnon-professionalsettings.Althoughsocial users to overturn thebasisoftheiroppression orcooperatewith the stateinmanagingservice forsocialworkerstobe pulledincontradictorydirections,eithertosidewithservice understandings andsolidarity. Suchananalysisexplainsthetendencieswithincapitalist state clients, italsopointstothenecessity ofdirecthumancontact,whichcreatespotentialforshared While thissuggestssocialworkers haveadirectstakeinmaintainingtheoppressionoftheir • • • political economyofwelfare,Stevenson(1978)arguesthathuman servicesarecharacterisedby: In aconcisearticlethatmovesbeyondmanyoftheclassicsocial worktextsinitstreatmentofthe for differentgroups,withtheexamplethat: and serviceareinherent in all ‘’, including socialwork, the balanceisdifferent class people. Focusing on the US, Stevenson (1978) points out that while elements of control be consideredoppressive.Yetatthesameitoffersservicesandresourcesthatbenefitworking pliant workforceandplaysaroleinmanagingthebehaviourofworkingclass,whichmight debate withinRSW.Statewelfarebenefitscapitalistsbyhelpingtoensureahealthyandcom work writersexplicitlydiscussMarxisttheory. example withinsomefeminist,greenandanti-racistapproaches,thatnotallMarxistsocial elements withintheradicaltradition,whileacknowledgingMarxism’swiderinfluence,for their significantimpactonRSWinternationally.IfocusherethemoreexplicitlyMarxist Britain andtheUS,bothbecausetheyhaveamoreextensiveRSWliteratureof would be considered social workin many . The following discussion will focus on Craig, Derricourt,andLoney,1982;CookeShaw,1996),coveringformsofpracticewhich community worksincethe1960sgaverisetoadistinctstrandofradical(e.g. range of countries (Lavalette and Ferguson, 2011). In Britain a separation of social work and Social Work Network (SWAN)andpublicationssuchasLavalette(2011)thejournal became prominentagainintheearlytwenty-firstcenturythroughSocialWorkAction tle morethan“carryoutthedesignsofrulingclassandvictimizeclients”’(p.79). RSW

The mostpublicfaceofMarxistsocialworkundercapitalismhasbeenasaninfluentialstrand The contradictory character of capitalist state welfare has been a central concern and point of an incentive for producers to deliver their services in a way that maintains dependency in direct contactbetweenproducersandconsumers; the simultaneousproductionandconsumptionof‘product’; order tomaintaindemand. working-class students. middle-class students.Thecontrolaspectisdominantwhen theyteachblackandLatino the serviceaspectisdominantinNewYorkCityschoolswhenteachersteachwhite , foundedin2013.RSWhascometoinvolvepractitionersandeducatorsawide Marxist socialwork Critical andRadical (p. 459) 27 - -

Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 05:35 26 Sep 2021; For: 9781351264402, chapter3, 10.4324/9781351264402-3 and theincreasinguseofmarketmechanismstoallocateservices.Marxistsocialworkershave its searchfornewsourcesofprofit,including“theexploitationpsychologicalneed”(p.376), (2015) argue that suchcontradictionsare intensifying as capitalism in a period of crisis expands users’ responsestotheiroppressionsuchthatthestatusquoismaintained.SinghandCowden Tom Vickers 28 campaigns across Britainandwinningsomeconcessions (Owen,2013). their employment.Tenantsthemselves showedmuchmoredeterminedopposition,mounting nevertheless instructeditsmembers tocooperatewithitsimplementationlesttheyjeopardise larly dubbedthe‘bedroomtax’. Thecircularexpressedtheunion’soppositiontocut, but government branchesregarding acuttowelfarepaymentsforsocialhousingtenants,popu unions, in June 2013 Britain’s biggest public-sector union, Unison, issued a circular to its local These pointsremainrelevanttoday.Inarecentexample of thecontradictoryroletrade doubted’ (p.49).Againstthistheauthorsproposeaformof socialist practicethat: in aperiodwhere‘theveryexistenceatthemomentoflabour movementcanbeseriously to linkupwithtradeunionsandtradescouncilsinthemuscle ofthelabourmovement’,even practice in Britain in the 1970s, which ‘scorned non-workplace struggles’ and ‘exhorted activists socialist communityworkers’experienceofhousingstrugglesandtheorthodoxy Marxist socialworkers.FleetwoodandLambert(1982:48–58)discussthedisconnectbetween paign, startedbyagroupofyoungsinglemothersandsustainedformanyyears(Watt,2016). importance ofthiscanbeseenincontemporarystrugglessuchastheFocusE15housingcam enable politicalparticipationamongsectionsoftheworkingclasswhoareoftenexcluded.The to argue that RSW can foster mutual caring networks and make demands for state resources, to for analternativeviewpoint(pp.9–10).Baldock(1982:30)drawsonworkwithsingleparents the ‘psychologicaldamage’whichmayresultfromresistingcapitalisthegemonyandstruggling tive struggle.Forexample,BaileyandBrake(1975)arguefortheneedtohelppeopleovercome work canalsoplayanimportantroleinsupportingpeopletosustaintheirinvolvementcollec evance totheparticularissuesfacedbythosewithwhomwework’(Galper,1980:137).Social ers ‘investigating appropriate political resources inthe community and determining theirrel Following this approach,standard processes of referral might bereinterpretedto include work and immediatewiththecollectivelong-termaspartofamulti-dimensionalpractice: needs andorganisingforstructuralchange,butratherthatsocialworkersshouldlinkthepersonal responded tothesecontradictionsindiverseways(seeVickers,2015). The relationshipbetweenworkplaceandcommunitystrugglehasbeencontestedamong Some Marxistsarguethereisnotnecessarilyacontradictionbetweenmeetingimmediate dress up,singsongs,performanticsincouncilchambers,totravel unprecedenteddistances. talist society)toaclassconsciousness isational formsandrelationshipswhichrecognisethepersonal barriers(constructedbycapi starts andgrowswiththeexperienceofpeopleinstruggle ment tomeeting[immediate]needsseriously. worst. Radicalpractice if .counsellingfailsto But for realisticsolutions,thenitisextremelylimited,atbest,anddeceptiverepressive, provided. be must it link required, is counselling If . . . temporary andpartialsolutionswiththelargersocialtransformationthatisrequired . . . is anotherwaytolookatwhatitmeanstakeourcommit . . . it will entail people to do extraordinary things, to it willentailpeopletodoextraordinarythings, . . . developing techniques,organ (Galper, 1980:12–13) (p. 57) ------Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 05:35 26 Sep 2021; For: 9781351264402, chapter3, 10.4324/9781351264402-3 ers. BlaggandDerricourt(1982)arguefortherevolutionarypotentialofsuchapproachesby people, togetherwithCDPworkers’exposuretoMarxismthroughmeetingotherwork driven bythepracticalneedtounderstandstructuralcausesofproblemsfacingworkingclass Armstrong, BanksandCraig’s(2016)surveyofPECbulletinsshowsthatthegroup’sworkwas to formthePoliticalEconomyCollective,drawingdirectlyonMarxism(Craig ers thiswasdirectlyconnectedtorevolutionaryaims.AgroupofCDPworkerscametogether ple on a range of initiatives and produce damning reports on the capitalist state. For some work offer anexampleofpaidprofessionalsusingstateresourcestoorganisewithworking-classpeo • • • countries asdiverseGermany,India,,Java,andBulgaria. million by1940,whosefinancialcontributionssupportedtens ofthousandspeopleincapitalist national sectionsin71countries.Thelargestmembershipwas intheSovietUnion,exceeding10 political prisonersandsupportforrefugees’(Schilde,2003:144).By1933therewere their ],children’shomes,supportforcampaignsdirectedattheliberationofcommunist through ‘legal counselling, socialwelfareforprisoners[including cash, clothing andfoodfor and theirfamilieswhohadbeenimprisoned,injuredorkilledinthecourseofpoliticalactivity and healthcare(KirkErisman,2009).MOPR’snationalsectionssupportedcommunists which wasfoundedin1922,andmorerecentlyCuba’sinternationalsolidarityeducation,sport of FightersfortheRevolution(MOPR),knowninmanycountriesas‘InternationalRedAid’, Significant internationaleffortssincethenincludetheInternationalOrganisationforSupport founded theCommitteeforSupportofImprisonedandEmigratedRevolutionariesin1848. nist provisionofwelfareservicesaspartanti-capitaliststruggles,datingbacktoKarlMarx,who periods ofrevolutionarywar(seeChapter46inthisvolume).Thereisarichtraditioncommu organised within social movements,includingsituationswhere the statebreaks down or during Lavalette andIoakimidis(2011)usetheterm‘popularsocialwork’,toencompasswelfareactivities Popular socialwork controls (Vickers,2012,2015). applications ofthisapproach can be seen in community campaigns on issuessuch as immigration every aspectofsociallifeandtherebycreatingmultiplefrontsfortheclassstruggle.Morerecent people, andwomenoutsidewagedwork,Gramsci’sanalysisofthestatepenetratinginto together amultiplicityofcontradictions,facingforexampleunemployedyoungpeople,black drawing ontheMarxistAlthusser’sanalysisofhowclassstruggleemergesthroughanddraws

The Community Development Projects (CDPs), set up by the UK Home Office in 1969, Other examplesofpopularsocialworkinformedbyMarxism include: in , following the establishment of a revolutionary progressive state by the Sandinista in Nicaragua,followingtheestablishment ofarevolutionaryprogressivestatebytheSandinista from 1940to1944inGreece,thecommunist-ledEAMmovement developedpopular from the1930s‘patrioticandrevolutionaryVietnamese triedtobuildnetworksof methods ofpopular (WilsonandHernández, 2011;alsoTavares,2013). the activeparticipationofpeople inthedevelopmentofsociety,centredaroundFreirian movement, socialworkerswho were part ofthe‘reconceptualisation movement’ facilitated and “holisiticdevelopment”’(Ioakimidis, 2011:115). resistance toNazioccupation, encompassing ‘thefightforsurvival,popularadministration forms ofwelfareprovisionbasedongrassrootsdemocracy and solidarityaspartoftheir operate clandestinely(Oanh,2002:85); of “red relief services” to serve the poor and provide mutual assistance’, often forced to , students,workers(horse-cartdrivers,carpenters,shoe-makers, porters)intheform Marxist socialwork et al ., 1982:3). 29 - - - - Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 05:35 26 Sep 2021; For: 9781351264402, chapter3, 10.4324/9781351264402-3 • Tom Vickers 30 all playing‘social workservice’rolesthatdeveloped undersocialismandcontinue today.There Youth League,theAll- Federation ofYouthandtheAll-ChinaWomen as Ministry ofCivilAffairs,theAll-China FederationofTradesUnions,theChineseCommunist the socialistperioddidnotmean anabsenceofsocialwork.Ngai(1996:293)describes the the 1980s(Ngai,1996: 289–291). However,theabsenceof social work asa profession during along with other social sciences that werejudgedasunsuited to ,and reintroduced in the definitionofsocialismoutlinedabove.Socialworkwasabolished asadisciplineinthe1950s as a result of market reformsintroduced in the 1980s it is questionable whether China still meets approaches andmakethecaseforfurtherresearch. the changingroleofsocialworkinahandfulsocialistcountries, toillustratethediversityof confusing thetaskofcomparison.Forpurposesthischapter Ipresentbriefcasestudiesof has proceededthroughreformwithaself-definedcommunist partyremaininginpower,further established orre-establishedafterareturntocapitalism.Insome countriesareturntocapitalism In manycasessocialworkasadistinctprofessionhasnotexisted undersocialismbuthasbecome • • • a needfordifferentkindofsocialwork(Galper,1980:12).Thisisconnectedto: intertwined. cultural, andpoliticalarenas,whichinmanysocialistcountrieshaveoftenbeenclosely ships andboundariesbetweenthesedifferentactors,therelationshipwelfare, welfare functionsperformedbynon-professionalmassandpartyorganisations,therelation tion ofprofessionalsocialworkerroles,wheretheyexisted,andotherprofessions,the the character of welfare provision in each and during specific periods, the defini social workundersocialismisbeyondthescopeofthischapter.Itwouldrequireanalysis , ,andNorthSouthAmerica.AfullconsiderationofMarxistapproachesto countries hasbeenincrediblyvaried, including over the last century countries in Africa, tailored totheseends(Galper,1980:29–39).Theactualstructuresandpracticeofsocialist humanity andcreatingconditionsforeachindividualtoflourish;astateexistswhichis tion predominates;societyisconsciouslyorganisedtowardthegoalofmeetingneeds socialism isdefinedasaformofsocietyinwhich:socialownershipthemeansproduc Socialism isahighlycontestedterm,asitsapplicationtospecificcountries.Inthischapter Marxist approachestosocialworkundersocialism

China’s WarofLiberationculminatedin1949withtheestablishment ofsocialism,although The fundamentallydifferentcharacterofsocialiststates,comparedtocapitalistimplies since the1980sinBrazil,therehasbeenastronglyinterventionistcurrentofsocialwork, The potentialforacontradictionbetweenthe professional idealofindividualautonomy The roleofdiversestate,politicaland‘mass’organisationsundersocialismthataimtotackle The absenceinsocialistsocietiesofmanythesocialproblemsthatworkseeksto popular andunionmovements’(Mota,2013:29) tive, andinvolvingsocialworkersas‘producersofacriticalmassintherealmsocial, forming apoleofattractionforprofessionalsinotherfieldsseekingmorecriticalperspec and thesocialistidealofcollectivepoliticalleadership(Ngai, 1996). ter ofsocialwork(Oanh,2002); the sameissuessocialworkseekstoaddress,andthereforeimpactonscopecharac causes ratherthansimplytomanagetheirconsequences(Strug,2006); address undercapitalism,oratleastanincreasedpotentialtoovercometheseproblems’root - - - - - Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 05:35 26 Sep 2021; For: 9781351264402, chapter3, 10.4324/9781351264402-3 and theyhavebeenpushedtocommercialisetheiractivities. major marketreformsbegan,statefundingfortheculturalpalaceshasbeensignificantlyreduced photography, music,dance,sportsandgardening’(Xing,2011:822).Since1985,whenthe workers, andprovidingothercoursesasvaried‘literature,mechanics,painting,calligraphy, working class,servingas‘theatre,concertandcinema’,offeringliteracyclasses,trainingyouth Cultural Palaceswereestablishedinthe1950s,andprovidedaplethoraofactivitiesfor and mentalhealthcarethatdevelopedduringthesocialistperiod(seeVickers,2015).Workers’ is alsoastrongaffinitybetweensocialworkandsomeoftheinnovativeapproachestophysical first phase,the Cuban FederationofWomen: structure; andthethirdfocused onsupportfordemocraticparticipation.Asanexampleof the most definitions;thesecondadded explicitsocialworkrolesaspartofcommunityhealthinfra by massorganisationsthatwere notalwaysexplicitlydefinedassocialworkbutwouldmeet each addingtothosethatwent beforewithoutreplacingthem:thefirstphaseinvolvedactivities tions ofempowerment. could suggestadisconnectbetweentheoryandpractice,or alternativelydifferentinterpreta structural factorsandprioritisesprofessionalexpertiseover collectiveempowerment,which curricula, Durst Education andTraining.Yetdespitethecontinuedpresence ofMarxismwithinsocialwork Chi Minhstudies,andtheinclusionofthesesubjectsismade mandatorybytheMinistryof Union. Atuniversitylevelthesocialworkcurriculumincludes ,MarxismandHo from semi-privateuniversitiestothetrainingschoolsof Women’sUnionandtheYouth many trainingprogrammesweresetup,involving33 providersby2010,ranging Durst, Lanh,andPitzel,2010).Aspartofthisre-establishment ofprofessionalsocialwork, Social workwasformallyrecognisedbythe government as a profession in 2010(Oanh,2002; sional practice,inresponsetothere-emergenceofsocialproblemsassociatedwithcapitalism. reintroduction ofthemarket,socialworkbegantore-emergeasadistinctareaprofes administration and voluntary labour (p. 85). Under the period of ‘modernisation’ and the the sickandburydead’;thesecontinuedintotwenty-firstcenturyasabasicunitfor organisation wherepeoplehelpedeachothertobuildhouses,takecareoftheweakand colonial collectivistapproachestowelfare,basedonthelocal‘Phöôøng’,‘acooperative population andwereresponsiblefortheirmembers’welfare.Therevolutionintegratedpre- welfare, inresearchinstitutes,oraspartofmassorganisations,whichencompassedtheentire prior to or during the war wentto work afterwards as ,in the ministry of social the valuesofsocialequalityandjustice’(p.87).Someworkerswhohadbeentrained defeat oftheUS,‘insearchforanalternativemodeldevelopmentthatwouldreflect and eitherjoinedtherevolutionaryforcesorcooperatedwithrevolutionfollowing social workersbecameradicalisedthroughworkamongstpoorersectionsofthepopulation, other war’,performinganumberoffunctionsfortheUSwareffort.Duringwar,some NGOs andprofessionalsocialworktrainingcourses,inwhatOanh(2002)describesas‘the there wasahugeexpansionofsocialwelfareinthesouth,includinghundredsforeign Caritas SchoolofSocialWorksetupbytheFrenchRedCross.Between1954and1975 professional socialworktrainingunder a government directorate for social welfare and the Cross, buttheseweresuspended.Thesouth,stillunderFrenchcontroluntil1954,began in 1945thenorthhadalreadybegunsomeshort-termcoursesprovidedbyFrenchRed which Oanhwitnessedpersonallyasapractisingsocialworker.WhenVietnamwasdivided national reunification,thedevelopmentofsocialism,andthenreturntocapitalism–all In Cuba,socialworksincethe 1959revolutioncanbebroadlygroupedintothreephases, In Vietnam,Oanh(2002)describesthedifferentformssocialworkhastakenthroughout et al . (2010)suggestsocialworkpracticeinVietnamfrequently neglects Marxist socialwork 31 - - - Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 05:35 26 Sep 2021; For: 9781351264402, chapter3, 10.4324/9781351264402-3 Tom Vickers 32 include activities toofferpoliticaleducation, buildalliancesbetweenoppressed groups,and and class forces, and the role of social work within this. Under capitalism, social work can calls foraconsciouslypolitical practicethatreflectsontherelationshipbetween state agency isdependentonanalysing theconstraintsimposedbyobjectiveconditions,and this even perpetuatetheproblems itseekstoaddress.Marxismemphasisesthatrealisingsubjective ety, butalsothatsocialwork isinherentlylimitedinachievingitsgoalsbyitselfand may tant contributiontowardmovementsstrugglingforstructural changesthatwillbenefitsoci This surveyofMarxistapproachestosocialworkshowsthat socialworkcanmakeanimpor Conclusion state, ortomitigatetheirmostdamagingeffects. social workerstosupportpeopleinresistingattacksfromthe rulingclassandoftenthecapitalist a socialistprocessthatalsoinvolvesthestate.Thiscontrastswith theneedundercapitalismfor workers asorganisersthatsupportmembersofsocietyinmeeting oneanother’sneedsaspartof treatment ofyoungpeople. Diaz, 2002).Inthiswayyoungpeople have adirectvoice and voteindecisionsrelatingtothe Federation ofSecondarySchoolStudentsandtheJoséMartíPioneersOrganization(Mendoza pation fromprovincialgovernmentandrepresentativesmassorganisationsincludingthe This iscoordinatedbytheMinistryofEducationandInterior,withpartici understood sociallyandusedtodrivesocialchangewhilealsorespondingtheindividual. anti-social behaviour.InformedbyaMarxistperspective,theexistenceofsuchbehaviouris in moretargetedinterventions,whereyoungpeoplehavebeeninvolvedpettycrimesor schools totrainout-of-schoolandunemployedyouth.SocialworkersinCubaalsoplayarole Havana in1998.Thiswasfollowedbythecreationofaseriesparaprofessionalsocialwork programme for advancedsocial work withintheDepartmentofSociologyat the Universityof drove reformsofsocialworkeducation,includingthecreationasix-yeardegree ing. Strug(2006)citesaninterviewwithaCubansocialworkeducatorwhodescribedhowthis ing forspecialistservicesat-riskmembersofsocietyandhelpingwithcommunityorganis Councils, buildingcommunitymembers’capacitytoparticipateinthenewstructures,advocat entities’ (Strug,2006:753–755).SocialworkersbecameincreasinglyinvolvedinthePeople’s local communities,‘comprisedofcommunitydelegates,massorganizationsandadministrative jects, withenablinglegislationcreatingPeople’sCouncilsasabridgebetweenmunicipalitiesand Movement’, includingconstruction,environmentalandothercommunitydevelopmentpro drugs andprostitution.Partoftherevolutionaryleadership’sresponsewas‘Neighbourhood by theUSandexpansionoftourismtodrivegrowthsocialproblemsincluding quent lossoffavourabletradetermscombinedwithatighteningeconomicblockadeimposed to the extreme hardshipsofthe ‘special period’.Thecollapseofthe Soviet Union and conse auxiliary roletohealthcarepractitioners.Ashiftinfocustookplacethe1990s,response Technical socialworktraininginstituteswerecreatedin1973,withworkersplayingan The examplesoutlinedaboveshowthepotentialforfundamentally differentrolesforsocial nomic, politicalandsocialinvolvementwiththeRevolution,organizedcommunity workers’. Theyfacilitatedtheentryofwomenintolabormarket,promotedtheireco members, especiallywomenandchildren.TheFMCcalledtheseactivists‘empiricalsocial provided anorientationforthousandsofitsactivistsinhowtoworkwithcommunity members forparticipationinmajoreducationalandpublichealthinitiatives. 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