Social work is about power. In fact, it is a power
relation. Its function in the society is to be intermediary between the
powerful and powerless (rich and poor, elites and folk, oppressors and the
oppressed).
Social work is deal with immense variety of human
situations, with very little in common. However, the common denominator of the
social work users is lack of power.
They turn to social work when they cannot do something on their own, when they
need extra power to perform.
Power is a measure of sovereignty one
has over his or her Life-World, ability to do things, to change or maintain it
as it is.
Power therefore is not a property of
the Life-world itself, but it function, calculus, which is derived from this ability
to direct (move about) the Life-World, but also dependent on the schemes beyond
the lived world (such as position in the hierarchy, ownership, economic and
political status).
Paradoxically, the assistance and help by definition
take this power away from the assisted. Needing help, not only proves and
demonstrates helplessness and powerlessness, it also produces it. Doing things
for or instead of somebody diminishes his or her actual control over the
matter, over one’s Life-World – it distract the sovereignty over it. Hence,
after being helped, a remedial action is required to regain the power, to
recover the ground once shared.
Rationale of empowerment operation of social work is
therefore gaining power, but also conserving it and recovering it after an
“episode of assistance”. The mode of working applied in empowerment are usually
advocacy and negotiation.
Contractual power
In social work, it is optimal to operationally define
power as a contractual power. Thus, power
must be assessed and analysed according to what constitutes this very kind of
power, mapping the power according to the power possessed and according to the
power to be attained. This involves also decoding the “power diagram” – the
forces of power that are shaping the situation and establishing the status of
the person. Taking into account the power invested in social work, this enables
to spot the mechanisms and places where one is losing power, potential of
enhancing power or importing it into the situation from without.
Contractual power is not only the capacity to perform a contract but
also the capacity to vouch this performance. On the registry of interaction the
contract implies also what kind of a person the contractant is, implies the
notion of his or her self (Goffman,
1961). It stems mainly out of social status, which could be seen a general and
quasi-formal basis of contractual capacity and power. However, this virtual
property is upheld (or down played) by the credibility of interaction. The
resultant of this two faculties or the synthesis of them are the social roles,
in which statuses are enacted in credible or discredited manner.
In legal terms, contractual power or capacity is articulated as legal capacity. Legal capacity is
granted almost automatically with citizenship.
However, mere citizenship provides limited contractual and legal capacity
(since the state does not vouch for the deeds of their citizens) and must be
supported by property, or as it is the case for majority usually by employment.
For large segments of society who are not in employment surrogate statuses are provided – some of these are temporary as a
status of a child or a minor, a patient, a convict, an alien, an some are of
more permanent nature as being retired, disabled, being under guardianship,
etc.). The surrogate statuses provide at least some kind of a status, however,
the contractual and even the legal capacity pertinent to these statuses is
greatly diminished. There are other formal statuses that somebody can acquire
such as having a job or a work position, education, performing a functions or
being a member of formal group or organisation or even having a permanent
address. These do not provide the basic legal capacity per se but can support
and enhance or even condition the contractual capacity and power of a person.
Money is not only a purchasing power, but also power to enter
contracts.[1]
Money or other resources that can be appreciated by monetary measure constitute
next to the status the other potential of entering into the contractual
relationships. Income, salary, property, real estate, annuities, savings provide
the capacity to deliver the contracts. Money is, besides being a general
equivalent of work (political economy), also a general equivalent of trust (moral
economy of trust).
The collaterals are needed in contracts. Apart from status and
monetary base, various kinds of guarantees can vouch the contract. Guarantors,
guardians, advocates can provide a backing to contractual interaction and interchange,
as can deposits, property and social capital. The latter is often articulated
as reputation and respectability and can be supported by
achievements, family reputation, valued skills and valued roles.
Credibility in interaction plays in comparison with social status a
minor, but still important role in the contractual interaction. First
impression and general impression a person gives, eases the entering into
contractual relationship, as do the trustworthiness, confidence enjoyed by
others. Ability to clearly state one's intentions, wishes, hopes etc. are
important tools in articulating the contractual interchange, connections and
acquaintances do not provide only the base of contracts but also can give off
the good impression and credibility when entering into contracts, as well as
being actual intermediaries and brokers of the deals. Interaction skills as apologising,
explaining, using humour increase the credibility, ease the dealings and
contribute to contractual capacity. And status symbols can encourage the
formation of contracts if valued, and spoil it when stigmatized.
Social roles can be seen as syntheses of the status and interaction
credibility combining them into a functional and interactional whole. Having a
valued role of a worker, mother, member, customer, etc. directly provides the
increase capacity in the specific range that the role extends or ebb it by
devalued roles of a patient, service user, social case, etc. The more roles one
performs the greater is the contractual power – and vice versa – the less roles there are on disposal or even the repertoire
being reduced to one dominant deviant role meagre is the contractual power.[2]
One of the most important function of the stigma (and dominant deviant role) is
to serve as a warning, discredit the actor from the virtual general assumption
of contractual capacity (Goffman, 1963).
The element of status, credibility in the interaction and social
roles can serve as a checklist when assessing the power in any social work
situation or operation. It can serve as an initial benchmarking of the
contractual power on the onset of work. It can be used afterwards to evaluate
the intervention in terms of empowerment – whether the work resulted in an
enhanced or reduced power. Or it can be geared directly into enhancing power,
used for mapping the power that is available to somebody and to identify the
areas where power is lacking. Based on such map an “empowerment plan” can be
made making a roadmap of which lacunae of power should be filled.
However, such a map detects the power available and needed in a
situation or with a person or a group, it conveys what is missing but not where
to get the power from. For this, another map is needed – a map of power
diagram, i.e. the diagram of powers in a situated field.
References
Goffman, E. (1961), Asylums. New York: Doubleday & Co. (Pelican edition 1968).
Goffman, E. (1963), Stigma - Notes on the management of Spoiled Identity. Engelwood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall; (1968),
Penguin edition.
[1] It is easier to expect from a person who has money to fulfil one’s obligations;
if one does not deliver it in kind, then one is able to pay – either the damage,
or somebody to perform the service instead of him.
[2] Having many roles gives us, paradoxically, a certain freedom to be
ourselves. The more roles we have, the less fixed we are to a particular one.
Playing different roles gives us richness of experience and adds to our value
and respect. The more of valued roles we have, the bigger is our social worth.
