Should social work be cancelled?

There is an argument currently doing the rounds that because the social work profession has failed to protect the poor and oppressed it should be abolished.

It’s a response that resonates with previous debates about whether social work is about ‘care’ or ‘control’, with the abolitionist stance emphasising that, in the current neoliberal and managerial world, control dominates.

Abolitionist social work originated in the US as a theoretical framework and political project which was an extension of carceral abolitionism. Such abolitionism seeks to end punishment, prisons, police and other carceral systems because they are inherently destructive, causing physiological, cognitive, economic and political harms. 

Instead of producing justice and healing after social harms have occurred, the poor and marginalised are disproportionately burdened. 

The way forward according to abolitionists is to create material conditions, institutions and forms of community that facilitate emancipation and human flourishing. 

Such critiques and the failures they highlight – systemic injustices, entrenched hierarchies and the replication of oppressive power structures – have to be acknowledged and acted upon. 

However, surely abolishing social work in all of this is not the answer, simply because it would play directly into the hands of neoliberal and authoritarian forces. For example, there is the real danger that governments and institutions would seize the opportunity to further weaken, marginalise or erase the very services and support that many vulnerable people and communities rely upon. 

Surely the way forward is not to eliminate social work but to transform it critically and radically by rejecting top-down, bureaucratic models of the profession. 

This involves social workers rooting themselves in communities, aligning their work with unions, grassroots movements and the collective struggles of clients/service users. 

Importantly, critical social work (CSW) is not about preserving the status quo, nor is it about disappearing from the scene. Instead, it is about becoming a vibrant force for equality and social justice by amplifying marginalised voices, dismantling structural oppression and building a more equitable and compassionate world.

The need for this is ever more evident given the authoritarian resurgence and suppression of marginalised communities. It is about a practice which moves beyond compliance with state regulation and toward collective responsibility to communities.

Practitioners might think much of that sounds well and good, but in practical terms what can they do when faced with managerial demands which often emphasise speedy completion of bureaucracy aimed at rationing resources and assessing/managing risk? 

This can lead to practice with children and families involving little more than telling parents/carers to change their behaviour/lifestyle or face the threat of losing their children to adoption. 

Such scenarios relate to the fact that in the neoliberal world clients/service users are less able to turn to the state for help and support, instead having to rely on themselves, family, community and the charitable voluntary or third sectors.

Critical practice provides an antidote to this because it responds to immediate needs while acknowledging the impact of structural issues such as poverty and inequality. In so doing it envisages and works towards a more just and equal society. 

In broad terms, CSW embraces a wide range of oppositional perspectives which include Marxism, feminism, anti-racism, and anti-oppressive perspectives more generally. These are used to counteract the neoliberal and managerial world which shapes the context of practice.

This is ever more needed in the UK, as well as elsewhere, not least because the rise of the far right provides a wake-up call with their normalisation of racist rhetoric which challenges social work's principles.

Meanwhile, in the US the murder of intensive care nurse Steve Pretti, Renee Nicole Good and others makes the reality of a far-right government only too apparent.

In short, social workers need to do what they can to stop xenophobia and racism from becoming the basis of state policy. This includes a renewed commitment to social justice grounded in an understanding of structural inequalities, universal human rights and an active opposition to fascism itself. 

So, rather than a focus on abolishing social work, the profession must ensure it is less concerned with maintaining the status quo by expecting people to accept and adjust to their socio-economic circumstances. 

Instead, it has to be about progressive social change and involves forming relationships with clients/service users, working alongside them on their concerns, and having a critical engagement with what lies at the root of social injustice. 

Such CSW seeks to build solidarity across fragmented communities and rebuild a public sphere rooted in justice, security and a shared sense of belonging.

The focal point must be on meeting immediate need, resisting pressures for more authoritarian control by being aware of practices of power and how to exercise resistance. For this is what helps us move towards a more socially just and equal society. 

Dr Steve Rogowski is an independent scholar and author who practised as a social worker, mainly with children and families, across five decades in the UK