Neoliberalism: Impact On Contemporary Social Work

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NEOLIBERALISM: IMPACT ON CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL WORK
The neoliberal perception stems from the economic pressures that the government faces due to the competitions in the global markets. Wallace and Peace (2011) define neoliberalism as an ideology that has resulted in the promotion of political views, values and practices that promote individual goals and not collective responsibility for social problems. This essay will identify notable contemporary neoliberalism concepts. Moreover, it will provide a brief discussion and critical analysis of changes in social work practice, the provision of welfare services as a result of neoliberalism.
One of the main principles of neoliberalism is the rule of the market which is aligned to deregulation of markets. …show more content…

The privatisation of welfare institutions led to a change to managerialism in the practicing of social work. Alford and Davis (1997), describe managerialism as beliefs and practices that presume superior persons in authority like management can solve the escalating social and economic complications. This transformation in welfare resulted in the changing of positions from ‘social worker' to be called 'care manager’ and has resulted in a decrease of the time that social workers used while being involved in tasks such as counselling and advocacy (Carey, 2006; Lymbery, 1998; Postle, 2001). Managerialism philosophy views the society as a market where there is competition and it focuses on supply, demand and prices. It however disregards the commitment of social work practitioners of ‘working with individuals, groups and communities, through both advocacy and policy reform initiatives, in the pursuit and achievement of equitable access to social, economic resources (AASW: Code of Ethics, 2010, p.8). Under managerialism the important aspect is profits and not clients, market share, not sharing. This results in challenges for social workers since their commitment to working with the community and the value of society has been removed and substituted by the economisation principle—the maximization of profits and this is in contradiction to social work values of professional integrity and respect for

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